Silver Goddess
by Goddess Auset
Summary: set after TMR- Imhotep is back, Evelyn meets a long lost cousin who is a priestess of Isis and the reincarnation of Nefertari's older sister. Throw in said sister having guarded a deadly artifact that Imhotep wants and things get interesting
1. Prologue

Prologue  
  
Ancient Egypt: 1294 BC  
  
City of Thebes  
  
She moved smoothly into her room, followed by maids who were accustomed to their mistress's swift yet silent feet, and sat down on her couch. Another bolt of pain went through her midsection and she clenched her teeth, determined not to make a sound, she was a princess, not a harem woman. This time she had a different reason for being swift, her father and husband had followed her closely and watched anxiously as the maids removed her characteristic silver jewellery, pushing her linens away from her legs to keep them from being soiled. Then they gently lay her down and she winced slightly, accepting the comforting touch of her husband's hand upon her cheek gratefully.

The pains lasted for a while and she lost track of time but when the physician started moving around nervously and her sister was sent for, Princess Selkenauset knew something was wrong. "What is happening to me" she asked weakly, surprised to find that her voice had suddenly grown faint and her strength was rapidly fading. Her eyes moved rapidly from her husband's anxious gaze to her father's worried face and she knew. She had suspected that this would happen. That the birth of her child would be the death of her. The physician had been worried sick when he found out she was pregnant because her body was too small to possibly bear a healthy child and live to care for it.

Yet she was not afraid of the end, of dying, only afraid of the result of Ma'at's scales in the judgement hall. She had done her best to prepare for her passing, said her prayers dutifully everyday to Isis and Mut so that her soul would be unblemished when she took Osiris' hand. However, the apprehension was still there and she looked over at her husband "I am dying, my love" she said, stating the obvious, though she felt no pain. The absence of pain reassured her, for it was Isis' response to her faithfulness, and told her that she had nothing to fear in the judgement hall. Sebek would go hungry again. She smiled suddenly, upon remembering that the treasure she guarded would be safe where it was hidden. For only she knew where it rested and once she died no one, not even her beloved husband, would be able to find it. Her vision began to blur as her husband took her hand and she smiled at him "do not worry, Imhotep, I am prepared" she whispered and acknowledged the presence of Nefertiri, who had come in a hurry.

Nefertiri was crying and another pain shot through Selkenauset, causing her to clench her teeth again. She heard the words of Isis in her head _the child will not go with you, my daughter, Nefertari will live _Selkenauset nodded faintly and summoned all of her strength but before she pushed he placed her hand on her husband's cheek. "The baby is a girl and her name is to be Nefertari, Isis has told me this. Please take care of her....I am fading fast and I won't be here when she comes. Please Imhotep, tell her I love her. I love you" she said softly then clenched her teeth, gripped his hand and pushed with every ounce of strength left in her body. Her vision darkened and cold winds of the judgment hall were like a slap to her face. The last thing she heard, as the doors of the mortal world closed behind her, was a newborn baby's cry.


	2. Chapter 1: The Disturbance

Chapter 1: The Disturbance  
  
Fate is often a nasty sort, often following someone around and driving him or her insane while laughing the whole time. On this particular night, fate seemed to have chosen the Med-Jai as its target. After falling off a camel, losing a niece in birth, and having the Book of the Dead stolen right out from under his nose...again, Ardeth Bey was perilously close to losing his sanity as well as his luck. If that weren't bad enough he had to go to Cairo, a two-day journey from the camp, to mail a letter to Evelyn; the contents of which, pertained to the lost book.  
  
He walked into his tent, swearing under his breath in Arabic, and pulled out his scimitar to polish it then abruptly halted in response to a strange noise from outside. "What in the name of Allah could that be?" he muttered and whirled around, blade in hand, to investigate. The cursing increased in volume once he saw that dangerously high clouds were beginning to cover the moon and build up on the horizon. Since the camp was in the middle of the desert and it never rained; this sign could only mean one thing. He was back.  
  
Ardeth ran back into the tent, pulled out the letter and quickly added this piece of news then sealed it and went out to saddle up his horse, looking over at the camels with a disgusted frown. The last thing he would do is ride one of those filthy "buggers", as Jonathan had called them, again. Besides, he needed speed right now not brains and horses were faster. He set out of the camp at full gallop, it was still night and hopefully he could make it to Cairo in 24 hours.  
  
Meanwhile, in London, Evelyn O'Connell wasn't having much luck either. The clumsiness she had thought was gone for good had returned with a vengance and she had broken at least four fragile objects in the last eight hours. She had gone to bed seething and pushed Rick away when he tried to kiss her goodnight, causing him to turn away in hurt and confusion. Now it was 3:30 in the morning and she still couldn't sleep, she had tossed and turned to try and find a comfortable spot but to no avail. Finally, she was forced to conclude that it wasn't the bed that was bothering her. Something was horribly wrong.

She rose from the bed and, throwing a dark green housecoat on, proceeded to leave the bedroom in search of the unseen pest. She checked on Alex then walked the hallways of the house, even going into the cellar to see if anyone or anything was down there. Confused and somewhat afraid, Evelyn finished her search and made her way back up to her bedroom but stopped suddenly when she went through the living room. Everything appeared to be normal until her eyes focused on a small silver statuette of Isis that stood on the mantelpiece.  
  
It had been found in the apartment of a Princess of the 19th dynasty but her name had not been revealed. However, Evelyn had known that it wasn't Nefertiri's. Something about past experience made that even clearer. She walked closer to the statue and gasped. Usually all Egyptian statues had impassive expressions, especially those of the gods and goddesses. However this Isis statue's eyes were wide as if it had been surprised and the mouth was open in what appeared to be a horrified scream. A small reddish blemish was apparent on the left side of the chest, as if the statue had had its heart ripped out "good gods" Evelyn murmured.  
  
The statue bothered her for reasons other than its terrified expression. Egyptian statuettes were usually made out of plaster, clay, alabaster, or gold. This one was made of pure polished silver but it never tarnished. Evelyn went to pick the small silver goddess up but nearly dropped it and yelped in surprise. The metal was warm and appeared to be pulsing with an even rhythm, almost like it had a pulse. Evelyn quickly put the statue down and ran back upstairs to her bedroom as fast as she could without looking back. There was something wrong with that statue and she was pretty sure it had to do with Egypt.  
  
In Luxor, the wind was picking up and making the natives restless while in nearby Thebes, the temple of Isis almost seemed to shiver. Inside a small hieroglyph on the sacrificial altar, pulsed with the same rhythm as the silver statuette. The large statue of Isis seemed to move and its mouth opened, letting out a hideous, shrill, scream that woke every living creature within a mile. Cats meowed in torment from the shrill screeching in their ears, dogs whimpered and crawled under beds or furniture, even scorpions and snakes hid under whatever they could find while people bolted up in their beds and searched their houses for the source of the noise.  
  
In the temple quarters a young woman bolted up in her bed, and stared with rapidly clearing eyes at the doorway to her room. She had heard her mother's scream but knew not the purpose of it. In the desert, Ardeth nearly fell off his horse when a shrill shriek met his ears. He had never known a woman who could scream that loud and he sincerely hoped he would never meet one. He whirled around in the saddle, cursing as his back cracked, and looking around to see where the blasted female was who had nearly deafened him. Shuddering at his apparent inability to locate any thing that even closely resembled a woman, he continued on, fully awake now and urged the horse to go faster. He needed to get to Cairo quickly.  
  
At the temple of Philae, the remaining priestesses all heard the scream and ran out of the temples to see the black clouds building up. While, in Thebes, the aforementioned young woman stood on the steps outside the temple and clutched the pendant at her neck. "Oh dear gods" she whispered as the winds began to pick up and shift the desert violently "what has unsettled you so?".  
  
Nine days later....  
  
Rick swore loudly as he walked around his and Evie's bedroom, throwing things into a suitcase. Evelyn had been acting strangely lately, searching through every book trying to find something that he was not aware of. Then the letter from Ardeth had come in, saying that the book of the dead was missing and strange things were happening in the desert. Rick shook his head...Egypt again. That was the last place on Earth he wanted to go now. Right up there on the list with Antarctica. No, wait, Antarctica wasn't on the list, there weren't any mummies in Antarctica. Since Evelyn had shown him the strange statue, he had been having nightmares about Imhotep and Evelyn had been having visions again.  
  
Only this time they were of a young woman whose name wasn't known but there was no doubt about who she was. Neferitiri's sister, the older daughter of Seti, only her name was nowhere to be found. That was the main reason they were going back to Egypt, not because Imhotep may very well be loose again. Jonathan had decided to come with them to keep Alex occupied and could still be heard ranting about the inefficiencies of the Med-Jai even though he was on the other side of the mansion. Later in the day, once everything was packed, Rick went to the library to check on his beloved wife who characteristically had her nose buried in a book.  
  
He propped himself up against the doorframe doorway "Now do we have a destination within Egypt in mind or are we just going to march in blindly and hope we can find what you are looking for?" he asked tentatively. Evelyn lifted her head, closed the book, and smiled "yes, our first destination is the temple of Isis in Thebes. According to Ardeth, there are still about 70 priestesses that follow Isis even today, they are divided between the temple of Philae and the temple in Thebes as well as the one hidden in Karnak" she said passing him with a quick kiss on the mouth "the daughter of my aunt Isadora is a priestess at the temple in Thebes and would be well qualified to help us" she said. Rick felt a shiver go up his spine as she said this and Evelyn's brow furrowed in concern when she looked back at him.  
  
"Are you alright, honey?" she asked, he shook his head and walked faster to catch up with her, putting his arm around her waist "yes, you seem to have a lot of unknown relatives in Egypt, dear" he said and Evelyn laughed "no, no, Rick. Only this one, the only reason you haven't heard about her is because dear Aunt Isadora is dead and before she died she was estranged" She said and again, Rick got the sensation that something about this relative of Evelyn's just wasn't right. "What was she estranged for?" he inquired, deciding it was best to be cautious since his last two questions had resulted in answers that nearly put him in cardiac arrest.  
  
"She went nuts". Jonathan rounded the corner in his bathrobe, holding the small statuette of Isis in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other "absolutely loony she was" he said somewhat sympathetically and paused to take a sip of his brandy. Wincing at the sharpness of the liquor, he shook his head then looked back down at the statue he was holding "poor old broad" he muttered. Evelyn sighed impatiently and took the statue out of his hands "she was estranged because she saw things that mother and father could not" she said, setting the figure down in its accustomed place then looked at him strangely "in fact, no one could, so they all thought she had gone insane". Jonathan nodded in agreement "one day the poor woman tried to tell me that there was a woman staring at her through the living room window and that her daughter was talking two days after she was born" he said and plopped down onto the couch thoughtfully as Evelyn went and got the tickets for the boat.  
  
Rick went upstairs and brought the luggage down then walked over and sat down across from Jonathan "was this Isadora, Egyptian by any chance?" he asked and Evelyn nodded as she walked in "pure blooded. She was mother's sister, the baby of the family. If she were alive right now she would be 42, my cousin is 24. Aunt Isadora was also estranged because she got married at 17 to one of the few remaining priests of Osiris. She had Farsiris at 18" she said thoughtfully "father didn't want us to talk to them, he was a staunch Catholic but mother was a free spirit so she was always writing to Aunt Isadora against father's wishes. Then, once Farsiris entered puberty she voluntarily joined the temple of Isis in Thebes and convinced father that they were complete heathens even more" she said with a laugh and sat down beside Rick, he looked at her  
  
"Evie?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Have you ever met Farsiris?"  
  
"No"  
  
"Then how do you know that she can help us?"  
  
"I don't. All I know is that she is a chosen of Isis so she would likely know where this statue came from" "Okay. Just thought we'd get that straight. How are we going to find her?"  
  
"Go to the temple and ask to see her"  
  
"Oh no, is this going to be another trial and error run with the temples where every priestess has her given name and a religious name?"  
  
Evelyn laughed briefly and shook her head, placing her hand on his shoulder "of course not, she only has one name that she goes by and that is Farsiris" she reassured him "don't worry, honey, everything will be fine". Jonathan winced, looked at Rick, and tightened his mouth into a straight line as his sister left the room to get Alex "Something tells me I am going to need a really strong drink to survive this trip" he mumbled. 


	3. Chapter 2: The priestess

Chapter 2: The priestess 

"I'm sweating to death in this heat" Jonathan complained and Evelyn laughed "Oh Jonathan, I thought you loved Egypt" she teased, he shot her a withering look, or as close as Jonathan could get to withering. At the moment it was closer to _withered_. They had just gotten off the boat in Thebes after a rather pleasant four day cruise across the Nile and were now standing in the middle of the main square of Thebes waiting for Ardeth. Evelyn had sent a letter back to him stating that her and her family would be in Egypt in a week and so they were. Having been the only one smart enough to bring a hat, Evelyn didn't feel the bite of the Egyptian sun like the others did.

She looked around at the people milling about the square, on their daily business, and wondered what her cousin looked like. Ardeth had taken a picture of Farsiris but had unfortunately caught her as she was passing by, therefore making her impossible to distinguish from any other priestess. All that was shown was a slender woman with dark hair in a white layered dress "there are definitely disadvantages to black and white film" she muttered then put the picture away and squinted at her husband who was wiping sweat off his forehead with a kerchief. With a fond smile aimed in his direction she turned to shush Alex just as Jonathan's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared across the square.

Rick looked up and turned around to see Ardeth walking swiftly towards them, he half smiled and the two men shook hands briefly "nice to see you again, old pal" Rick muttered and Ardeth nodded "yes, my friend, it is too bad we can't get together on happier occasions" he agreed. Evelyn turned around and smiled abruptly when she saw Ardeth "well, hello there Ardeth. Nice to see you again. How have you been?" she asked, he gave her a brief smile and sighed "not well, there have be some rather...." He paused to see if anyone around them was listening before he continued "odd occurrences in the past two weeks. However, there is some good news. I will be getting married in one month" he said and Evelyn began beaming. A number of exclamations followed this and just as they finished congratulating him they noticed a somewhat tall slim figure wearing a white hooded sheath, moving towards them. All could see that it was a woman and the woman was young and rather beautiful.

Jonathan shut his mouth abruptly and Ardeth bowed slightly "ah, right on time. Evelyn, here is your beautiful cousin" he said and paused to gently kiss the slender hand of the woman who, when she turned, revealed her face to them and shocked them all. Somehow they had not been expecting the delicate beauty who stood before them, blushing slightly beneath her veil. She focused large gold-flecked emerald eyes on them, the eyes of a feral cat, and one corner of her full, rouged, lips pulled up into a mysterious smile.

She was about an inch or two taller than Evie and a couple of inches thinner in the waist but not too thin. Somehow she managed to have curves in all the right places and was daintily slender, moving on silent feet. Wearing a slim fitting pleated white linen dress that was gathered over her left shoulder and decorated by a flat white belt of linen embroidered with silver thread, she looked as though she were getting married. But Evelyn knew that all priestesses wore this type of costume except for the silver decorated belt and the armbands made of pure silver that cuffed the young woman's upper arms. These dictated a higher status in the temple order.

There was also a small yet prominent pendant depicting a winged Isis hanging on a small snake chain. These too were made of silver but looked like they had been made in the old fashion, an heirloom of sorts. Her long straight shimmering hair was the colour of the Nile's fertile deep brown soil and her high elegant cheekbones and small chin added a sort of elegance to her already royal posture. She smiled again "hello Evelyn" she said in heavily accented English, her voice was light but sultry in tone and her soft pale golden skin was free of any blemish.

One could tell that she or a higher power took care of her body very well. Evelyn, mustering up her voice from the shocked depths of her mind, managed to return the smile "Hello, how are you?" she asked feeling somewhat lesser of a woman yet not quite believing that this thoroughly Egyptian beauty could be her orphaned cousin. The girl smiled again "I am well. You may call me, Farsiris, Evelyn. After all I am your cousin" she answered and Rick stepped forward slightly, offering his hand tentatively "hello I'm Evie's husband, Rick O'Connell and this one beside me is your other cousin Jonathan" he said carefully and was surprised when she shook his hand.

Her grip was strong and steady, hinting at an inner strength that belied her delicate appearance and her eyes drifted down to Alex who was anxiously shifting from one foot to another. "You, young one, must be Alex" she said and kneeled slightly to be at eye level with him. He smiled and she returned it while patting his shoulder softly "he looks like his father but has his mother's eyes" she commented as she straightened herself again. Alex grinned and Rick smiled proudly as Evelyn giggled briefly, the girl knew how to talk in such a way that she made everyone feel good. At that moment Rick knew that his fears were unfounded and there was no reason for his family to be weary of Farsiris. She was strong and beautiful but underneath all of that, her religion showed true that she was also kind and intelligent and good with children.

Her face became serious quickly and she looked at Ardeth briefly "the Med-Jai have informed me that you have requested my help on a matter of my mother Isis" she said, keeping her voice down and Evelyn nodded then began to pull out the statue but Farisis startled her but putting her hand on her hand to stop her "I am not permitted to help you unless we are on temple grounds due to the....publicity of this place. Someone could hear us who we don't want to so if you will please follow me, we will go to the temple gardens to deal with this matter" she said gently and Evelyn nodded understandably, kicking herself for not remembering that Ardeth had mentioned Imhotep's reappearance in the desert.

It was understandable that Farsiris would want to be on temple grounds but Evelyn didn't know whether Imhotep could walk on holy grounds of Isis. She hoped not because if he followed them.... She shook her head slightly and flexed her jaw "_I'm getting paranoid"_ she thought then took Alex's hand and followed the young priestess. About ten minutes later, after navigating a confusing maze of streets and back alleyways they came to an empty, much smaller square, which consisted of three temples and a large ornate building that Evelyn assumed had been the palace in ancient times. Farsiris led them through to a temple opposite the palace which appearances told, was the temple of Isis.

She nodded at two priestesses who stood at the gates and were eyeing the strangers with suspicion. She then turned to face them "only Evelyn may accompany me. This is a sacred place of worship for the women of Isis and those with open hearts and minds. Since the Med-Jai serve a foreign god they are not permitted within the temple precincts. Rick, Ardeth has told me that you are a branch member of the Med-Jai, therefore you are not allowed to come with us. Stay here and watch your son, there are many fragile artifacts around this square that would have you beheaded if they were broken" she said seriously and held her hand up when Rick and Alex began to protest, silencing them and making Ardeth rather uncomfortable. Evelyn just looked around nervously "I would feel safer if my husband and son were with me, if you wouldn't mind" she said but the young priestess shook her head sternly.

"They cannot come in. Whatever foreign laws protect you, do not apply here. Those who enter this square are under the laws set by the temples. There are twenty armed priestesses within this temple and forty armed priests in the temple of Osiris and the temple of Amun. You are safe here" she said reasurringly. Evelyn nodded and turned to Rick, planting a kiss on his cheek "do not worry, dear, I will be fine. Our matter is important and besides I do not think Imhotep could come through here without anyone noticing...he was never subtle in his previous appearances" she said then reached down and hugged Alex "mum, be careful" he pleaded and she smiled "of course, you stay with dad and Ardeth and try to keep your uncle out of trouble".

He nodded then squeezed her hand as she rose and turned to Farsiris "I am ready" she said, the priestess smiled and motioned with one slender hand to the door. As Evelyn walked into the temple, she gazed in awe at all of the intricate decorations that had survived since ancient times. Statues of Isis lined the walkway, motioning to paintings that depicted scenes from her life. The Goddess was everywhere. Farsiris removed her veiling, revealing that her linen dress was fairly translucent but not completely see-through.

Evelyn saw a pool in the middle of the main chamber that she took to be a bathing pool and her cousin stopped by the water "you must bathe before entering any other part of the temple...it is required" she said then turned to a young woman who was passing by and dictated in swift Ancient Egyptian that she was to bring a clean linen dress to her cousin. The other woman smiled at Evelyn and then conversed briefly with Farsiris in Egyptian before leaving to get a dress. By this time, Evie had already gotten into the water and was bathing briskly, she had set the small silver goddess, wrapped in a thick cloth, down by her shirt so that she could keep an eye on it.

An hour later, Evelyn found herself dressed like a priestess and seated across from her cousin in the gardens of the temple which were lush and green. "Now, what is it you need my help with?" Farsiris inquired and Evelyn unwrapped the statue carefully then handed it to her "I was wondering if you knew where this came from" she said and the widening of the young woman's eyes told her more than words could. Farsiris turned the statue over and over again until the frightened face of the goddess was staring directly at her and she shivered. Farsiris stared at the small silver figure "this is impossible" she thought "we have been searching for this for the last three thousand years".

The frightened face of the goddess disturbed her and seemed to be staring deep into her very soul. She had been surprised in the beginning to hear that she even had a cousin, she knew of her aunt who lived in a far away place that her human mother had never been to. But she hadn't known that she had had a cousin who was older than her and was an archaeologist. Farsiris was familiar with the Med-Jai who had protected the ancient palace and temples as well as Hamunaptra. However she hadn't known that this estranged cousin was, by chance, married to an honorary Med-Jai warrior. It very nearly stepped over the boundaries of her faith.

She normally read people as easily as she had read ancient scripts and these four were clearly adventurers, perhaps treasure hunters. Looking at the woman in front of her, her cousin, Evelyn, Farsiris was unable to tell if she could trust her with the information about the small silver goddess and its owner, who was a goddess in her time. "Yes Evelyn, I do know where it is from but where did you find it?" she asked carefully assessing her cousin's expression as she shifted slightly. "We found it in Hamunaptra" she said and Farsiris raised both eyebrows "you have been to Hamunaptra" she said heavily, feeling her heart sink.

She had thought that the city had remained hidden. It was often said that the evil presence of a cursed High Priest of Osiris walked the streets of that holy city and she believed it. The man had, apparently, been cursed with the Hom-Dai for killing the pharaoh of his time. The Med-Jai never spoke his name so she did not know who he was but had an idea of who he could have been. Evelyn nodded gravely and bit her bottom lip, giving Farsiris the feeling that that particular visit to Hamunaptra had not been pleasant at all.

Still she need to know exactly what Evelyn had found there and what had happened. "What happened in the City of the Dead? Clearly the thought of your experience disturbs you and I wish to know why" she said and the older woman nodded. Evelyn took a deep breath and told the story, in bits and pieces, about Hamunaptra and its minions, particularly the raising of Imhotep and what had followed. As she listened, Farsiris felt an alien presence in her own mind cry out at the thought of the resurrected priest but she managed to ignore it. She was thoroughly shocked and by the end, had her hands clasped in her lap solemnly and was staring off into space until the sound of Evelyn's voice stopped "you raised the high priest of Osiris" she said heavily and Evelyn nodded as confirmation. Farsiris rose from her seat "when was your last encounter with Imhotep?" she asked point blank, feeling it was best to be direct.

Evelyn thought for a moment then looked at her cousin who was staring at her with blazing feline eyes "two years ago, a cult of his followers raised him with the help of a reincarnation of Ank-Su-Namun. They were after world domination and sought to raise the Scorpion King with the Bracelet of Anubis and kill him then direct the army of Anubis in order to take over the world. We and the Med-Jai managed to defeat him" she answered and Farsiris nodded. For some reason, the thought of Imhotep unsettled her more than it should have.

He had not been the first to murder a pharaoh but his punishment had been the cruellest of any offender. She had felt for many years that the cursed priest had been punished too severely and that it would come back to haunt the Med-Jai later on...it turned out that she had been right. Farsiris paced back and forth a few times muttering to herself silently then stopped and once again faced Evelyn. She had heard enough from her older cousin to know she could be trusted so she prepared to tell her the story.

But, just as she opened her mouth to speak, a clap of thunder sounded and they both jumped then looked up at the sky. Clouds as black as obsidian blotted out the light of the sun and the only light was from streaks of lightening that zipped through the clouds. Farsiris gazed upwards and grabbed her amulet in fright as Evelyn stood up abruptly and prepared to hurry back into the temple. They both ran inside and were shocked to see Rick, Jonathan, Ardeth, and Alex sitting in the floor in the entrance hallway. Rick was cut and bruised but otherwise fine and both Jonathan and Alex appeared to be unharmed but Ardeth was not so lucky.

He was unconscious and his breathing was ragged as a priestess leaned over him and treated a large gash on his forehead. Rick jumped up as soon as he saw Evie and she ran to him, touching his face and shoulders with anguished hands "gods what happened?" she asked. Farsiris examined Alex briefly to make sure he had no wounds then stood again, clutching the silver statue to her chest as though her life depended on it. She went to the doorway and peered out carefully to see several men standing in the square dressed in red and black robes. However, one man stood out amongst them all, dressed completely in black robes with a gold shine to them.

The robes of a high priest. Deep in her chest she felt her heart stir but she also felt the cold evil of the curse that surrounded that man and somehow, she knew exactly whom he was. He slowly turned and looked straight at her, his dark eyes widened and she froze. She remembered those eyes form somewhere but they now scared her and he cried out something that startled her. She ducked back inside quickly and ran to Evelyn and Rick, her eyes wide and her hands trembling "he did that to you?" she asked though she knew the answer. Rick nodded "Imhotep's back".


	4. Chapter 3: the Escape

Chapter 3: The Escape

Farsiris whirled around and yelled for the temple doors to be closed then she turned back to Evelyn and Rick "we must go, your friends are in no position to fight" she said motioning to Ardeth who was now in a sitting position on the floor and holding his left side. He looked at her and nodded, as did both Evelyn and Rick, Jonathan and Rick moved to help the injured Med-Jai off the floor while Evelyn stayed close to Farsiris who clung to the silver goddess statue like her life depended on it. "Where will we go that he will not find us? Evelyn asked quietly, though her voice trembled with fear when she spoke. "There is one room in the palace where he refused to go during the latter part of his life and will keep away from even in death. It is in the palace and is blessed by Isis so we will be safe there" she answered, looking around at the priestesses who had closed the doors and were arming themselves against whoever was outside. Farsiris shook her head and motioned for them to surround her then looked at Evelyn.

"Excuse me for a moment, I must speak to my sisters briefly before I leave them" she said and Evelyn nodded then shushed Rick who began to protest and took Alex's hand "she will be with us in a moment, these women are prepared to fight to the death for this temple but want her to save herself. So they will need words of courage because their leader will not be fighting with them" she said quietly then turned to watch her cousin. Farsiris walked in front of the crowd of women and winced "I should be fighting with them" she thought and her heart ached as she took in the faces of the innocent priestesses, many who had not yet even become women but still took up arms to fight like men for the temple.

"You are the bravest citizens of Egypt, for you take up arms to defend our divine mother against the curse of the Med-Jai. As of now a large piece of the puzzle leading to a precious artifact has been placed in my hands" having said this she held up the silver statue and a unanimous gasp went up from the women. The older ones knew what it was and the younger didn't but gasped at its beauty "so I must leave you now in order to complete the puzzle, should you be unable to hold up the doors there are secret compartments behind the statues that will fit one or two women. Hide in them and do not fear, I will return soon" she finished and all of the women bowed then proceeded to run around, hiding gold and precious artifacts wherever they would be concealed from intruders.

Farsiris walked back to Evelyn, murmuring prayers to her goddess for protection from evil then looked into the frightened face of her cousin "come, we can leave now" she said and began to walk towards the main chamber of worship. After a few moments there was a huge pounding on the doors but they held firm and Farsiris began to run. "Where – are – we – going?" Evelyn asked haltingly as she ran to keep up with her much faster cousin. Farsiris didn't turn around but answered her as they came to a brief halt and she began to examine the large statues for something she knew was there. "There is an underground passageway leading straight to the entrance to the room I spoke of earlier, however there is a lever concealed in a statue that is needed to find it" she said, feeling around.

Rick sighed "not another secret passageway" he muttered, "I really am tired of these things", Farsiris sighed irritably "well feel free to go out the front door and let us know if you live" she retorted with a humourless smile then turned back to her task, Evelyn went over to another statue and began feeling around it and Alex did the same to another. Farsiris had a feeling that something was not right, none of the statues appeared to have any moving parts and she turned around to look around the room again.

Somewhat perplexed she began to murmur things she had read from an ancient script then something occurred to her, she turned the silver statue over and smiled. There, on the bottom, was a hieroglyph "Evelyn!" she said and Evie came rushing over "what is it?" she asked. Farsiris motioned to the glyph "look for a glyph that matches this one and you will find the lever" she stated then scanned the room again, her emerald eyes finally resting on the sacrificial altar "of course" she thought "the passageway is hidden beneath the altar" she walked across to the altar and search its face for a glyph.

On the back of the cool stone piece she found what she was looking for "I found it" she said softly then pressed the glyph. Suddenly, there was a grinding sound and the entire altar began to move to the side revealing a dark entrance beneath it "aha" she whispered in triumph but was shaken out of her elation by a loud shattering noise followed by the sounds of male voices. Rick, Jonathan, and Ardeth began to move more quickly and Evie ran ahead to peer into the darkness while Farsiris grabbed a torch from the wall behind the altar "forgive me mother" she whispered then cautiously lowered one foot into the darkness, feeling the closest wall.

Having not found anything, she lowered the torch in for light then swore in Egyptian: the walls were bare and the floor made of solid tile. Or at least it looked solid, some of the tiles had hieroglyphs on them and some were blank. "This just keeps getting better and better" Evelyn whispered when she saw the task that faced them. Her and Farsiris exchanged grave glances then both looked back at the men with grim looks on their faces "the walls are sheer stone and the floor appears to be made of different tiles. This passage was built for a young woman who was quite agile and strong but also clever because I bet there are traps to prevent others from gaining access to the palace through this passageway" she explained.

Rick cursed quietly in English "bloody paranoid buggers weren't they?" Jonathan spat and Ardeth shook his head, he looked at the women in front of him and the men who had helped him as well as the young Alex who looked at him then at his mother. He knew that he would not be able to make it into the passageway much less through it and if he tried to navigate the perilous maze of tiles he could end up killing them all. "I must stay" he said heavily "no you are coming with us" Rick said stubbornly and Ardeth shook his head then looked pleadingly at the priestess to provide a level head.

Farsiris was unbiased in her opinion, her religion had taught her to help whoever was in trouble and needed the Goddess's help. Now her own people were in danger and the passageway was the only way for her to survive to fufill her obligations to Isis. One of which was to defeat the evil that had again been released upon them. Farsiris saw the look in Ardeth's eyes and she nodded slightly "no, Ardeth must stay. He will not survive the jump to the floor and even if he does he is too disabled to make it through the traps and tiles alive. If he stumbles and steps on the wrong tile, we could all be killed or trapped within the passageway forever" she pointed out then looked around.

"If he lays on the floor and plays dead then he may be able to survive without the High Priest noticing him. A dead Med-Jai is of no use to Imhotep" she said quietly and Rick's shoulders sagged, Evelyn covered her mouth and shook her head sadly. They all knew she was right and her logic made sense however they had never thought it would come to this, them having to leave their friend behind. Suddenly another loud bang was heard and Farsiris became panicked "we have no time, we have to go, now!" she exclaimed then pushed Evelyn and Alex towards the passage, "you and Alex jump first I will be down in a moment" she ordered then faced Ardeth who was now laying on his stomach on the floor.

She recited the rites of death and forgiveness and asked the gods to have mercy on his soul should he perish. Then she lay a comforting hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly "be absolutely silent and they should not hurt you, goodbye my friend" she said and he nodded "goodbye Farsiris, tell my fiancée what has happened to me but do not tell her I was in pain" he said and she nodded "of course, I will do that" she promised then nodded at Rick and Jonathan who both jumped into the hole and left him. She crouched down and leaped to the floor, bending her knees to absorb the shock of the landing then straightened and Evelyn handed her the torch. Farsiris pressed another small button in the wall and the altar slid back into place, leaving no stone disturbed.

Once the alter had closed, she turned back around and held a finger to her lips in the universal sign for silence then leaned in close to Evelyn "just follow me and don't fall" she whispered then waited until Evelyn had passed the message along and nodded. One stone at a time, tile by tile, Farsiris translated and stepped over while the rest of them followed every single step she took, afraid of missing a step or stepping on the wrong tile and dooming them all. A while later they saw a dim light at the end of the passageway which gradually became a brightly lit doorway "the light at the end of the tunnel" Jonathan muttered "this would be the only occasion in which that could be considered a good thing".

Rick nodded in agreement and grasped his son's hand tightly in his, being careful to take the right steps. Finally they stepped out of the tiles and into the light of a hallway lit by the sun which was disappearing behind black storm clouds quickly, the temple was already in the storm. Farsiris opened an elaborate silver plated door bearing the words Princess Royal and the eye of Horus held by a kneeling Isis, a symbol to ward off evil spirits. The door was directly to their left and they entered an elaborate apartment.

Again, as in the temple, figures and names of Isis were everywhere but what was unusual was that most of the statues as well as the décor was silver, not gold. There was a large bed, still clothed in white linen, and a dresser carved out of ebony wood with a polished silver mirror. Evelyn gasped, she had never guessed that such a trove of artifacts could still reside in the palace. The room appeared to have remained just as the occupant had left it three thousand years earlier. Farsiris smiled at the wonder written on Evelyn's face then she moved over to the night table and placed the small silver statue in the blank space that it had come from.

Evelyn realized that this was the room of the owner of the statue and she looked at Farsiris whose smile held more secrets than the Mona Lisa "the woman who owned this room was given the title Beloved of Isis and is also the keeper of that statue" she said "this room was built especially for her by her father and no one has occupied it since she died, her husband and father had it blocked off from the rest of the palace so no one else ever knew it was here. Except the High Priestess of Isis. The passage we came through is the only entrance to this room now" she said then turned and glared at Jonathan "don't you dare touch or take anything in this room or I will feed you to the curse that walks outside" she threatened and that was enough to entice everyone including Alex, to clasp their hands in front of them and stand in the center of the room.

Evelyn looked around but could not see a name anywhere "who lived in this room?" she asked, turning back to her cousin. Farsiris' expression turned thoughtful "a princess and priestess embodied in the same woman, the guardian of a sacred and deadly artifact, a mortal goddess and the daughter of Isis" she responded, saying much but really nothing at all that Evelyn didn't already know. However, Evelyn could guess at who it was "Nefertari's older sister?" she inquired and Farsiris smiled, somewhat surprised at the older woman's knowledge "indeed she was" she answered and motioned to the floor. "We will be here for a while so you might as well sit down or sleep, the sun has gone down and it will be very dark in here soon" she said and went around, lighting torches that hadn't seen flame in over 3,000 years.

As more light went into the room, the room seemed to come to life, the statues glittered and paintings on the walls revealed themselves. All of them depicted a young woman either kneeled in prayer, embracing a rather familiar looking man, or dressed in full royal regalia and being blessed by Isis. Once the entire room was lit, Farsiris sat down with her cousin and Evelyn was finally able to find the woman's name. "Her royal highness Princess Selkenauset Ankh Nen Ma'at" she read then her head whirled around to face Farsiris.

"That woman was Nefertari's older sister which has to mean that she was Seti's oldest daughter" she said and her cousin nodded in confirmation "yes, she was a very important woman in Egypt" she answered then, for the first time in a while, Alex spoke up "then why was she hidden? Why was this room blocked off? and why did that statue end up in Hamunaptra?" he asked. The young priestess grinned at him "well the tale of that statue is quite long but not well known to those outside of the temple clergy" she said then straightened her linens, wincing when Jonathan began to snore loudly.

A moment later the Mona Lisa smile reappeared on her face and her eyes glittered like those of a tiger "get comfortable and I will tell you the story of the Silver Goddess".


	5. Chapter 4: Selkenauset

Sorry it took me so long to finish this chapter but I haven't had much time to write since my arrival at university so the story probably won't be completed for quite a while. I will finish it though...promise :-)

The wind blew through the high, uncovered windows of the room, as the five occupants watched the sun light fade quickly into night. Farsiris settled back on her heels and stared into the fire as she began to tell her story.

"Princess Selkenauset was born on the Day of the Tear, and it was said by many that Isis started to cry that day because her daughter had been taken from her and placed in the care of a mortal. She was born to Seti's first wife who was the mother of Rameses II but not Nefertiri. So in reality she was only Nefertiri's half sister and was supposed to have been married to him in order for him to ascend the throne. However, there was one complication, the young prince Rameses was too young to be married to his sister who was a full 12 years older than him. This was where Nefertiri came in. Nefertiri was the daughter of Seti's second wife and an only child since her mother had died in childbirth.

She was 8 years younger than Selkenauset and 4 years older than Rameses, which would make her within marriageable age. Anyhow, Selkenauset was a rather unusual child for a pharaoh to have because she seemed to have a closer than normal relationship with the gods from the day she was born. When she smiled, the sun always shone through the window of her nursery and when she cried, the Nile often swelled a few inches higher than its normal levels. Another reason was that she was often heard muttering spells in her sleep as early as six months after her birth! When the little princess learned how to talk she could often be heard babbling to herself, her nurse, and, oddly enough, the goddess Isis at any time of day.

Once she hit four years old, she began to pester her father to let her go to school. This was against tradition because usually only princes and the sons of nobles were sent to school to be educated in math and languages as well as politics. However, Seti was an odd Pharaoh and, wanting his daughter to be educated and out of his hair, he placed her in school, against the Queen's wishes. Selkenauset did not let her father down, she was more intelligent than most of the boys she was schooled with, and learned faster as well. Treating the teacher as an authority on all things but never hesitating to ask a question when she thought something wasn't right. Her childhood was relatively quiet, at the age of eight she became a half sister to Nefertiri whom she adored and beyond that nothing happened.

She went to school and often visited the nursery to play with her new baby half sister. This was unusual because usually the pharaoh's heirs were kept apart from other children due to their high breeding. The pharaoh's second wife, however, was the niece of his late high priest, and the Queen's high priestess of Isis. Selkenauset had been highly influenced by the Second wife who had doted upon her, upon finding out that she was a chosen and the goddess's favourite. Once the woman died in childbirth, the Queen adopted Nefertiri as her daughter and the family was nearly complete. Selkenauset's nurse was employed to take care of Nefertiri as well. Two years later, Selkenauset's life took a rather complicated turn for the better. At the age of 12 she became a woman and one night soon after, she disappeared from the palace altogether and without a trace" Farsiris paused to catch her breath and Evelyn shook her head, confused.

Rick was not sleeping but rather had his gun out by his side as he usually did, and was watching over his sleeping son while Jonathan slept soundly over in a corner. Evelyn knew Rick was getting tired but while they were in danger he would never let his guard up and he wanted to hear this story as much as she did. For different reasons, of course. For him it was a way to stay awake and learn about Evelyn's strange visions. For her it was out of interest and for a sense of closing. Farsiris looked at the night outside and sighed sadly. Thunder boomed but there was no rain and dark clouds obscured the normally brilliant stars. Farsiris straightened her dress again then stared at the silver statue thoughtfully and began.

"The pharaoh's guards and military searched the entirety of Egypt for the princess but could not find her anywhere. About a month later, a scribe ran into the palace, saying that the princess had just appeared in the worship chamber of the temple of Philae. Indeed Selkenauset had appeared in front of the large statue of Isis in the main chamber of prayer, right before the eyes of the startled priestesses. What was more unusual was that she was holding a statuette of Isis, which seemed to be carved out of pure silver. The Pharaoh soon went to Philae himself to fetch his daughter who seemed calm and unmoved by her experience. When they asked her where she had been, she had smiled and said that Isis had taken her to the fields of Osiris to meet him

Egypt had no choice but to believe her because there was no other logical explanation for her disappearance. The entirety of Egypt had been crossed and no stone had been left unturned in the search for her. Also, the physician examined her upon her arrival in Thebes and found a permanent tattoo of the eye of Horus upon her abdomen: a sure sign that she hadn't been carried off by some Bedouin and it hadn't been there before she disappeared. From that time on, the princess changed dramatically, she prayed to the goddess at least three times a day and would no longer wear gold, considered the mark of the sun. Instead, she ordered an entire new wardrobe of jewelry made of pure silver with stones of crystal, malachite, alabaster, lapis lazuli, turquoise, onyx and amethyst.

She wore the silkiest linens and the finest quality of sandals, also embroidered with silver and had a pot of pure silver kohl. Her entire bedchamber was done over with the precious metal, the room we are sitting in now, and she was rarely seen without that small silver statue. Later that year Rameses was born and three years later Selkenauset was betrothed to a high priest to be married to him at the age of seventeen. Selkenauset kept a detailed diary and in it, she described the statue as a puzzle piece. You see, there is an artifact that is sacred to the Isis temples and deathly powerful. It is called the Heart of Isis, no one but Selkenauset knew where it was hidden or what it looked like. Only that it could destroy the world if in the wrong hands. The silver statue is but one of a few dozen pieces that will lead one who is pure of soul and mind… to the Heart of Isis.

Once Selkenauset was seventeen, she was married to the High priest of Osiris but their marriage would only last for five years. Selkenauset, like any other woman, wanted children and wished to bear a son to carry on the family name but the physician severely opposed the idea due to the princess' slim frame. However, Selkenauset became pregnant five years after they were married and the physician's worst fears came true. The princess was too small to deliver the baby and she began bleeding heavily but somehow she managed to push the baby out. However though the baby was alive and well, Selkenauset died giving birth to her and left her husband and child alone.

Her husband never knew about the artifact she kept hidden and nor did anyone else but the high priestess of Isis and Isis herself. To this day no one knows where it is or what it looks like except one person" Farsiris said and Evelyn tilted her head to one side "who knows?" she asked and her cousin smiled grimly "me". Rick sat straight up at that "so he's after you?!" he exclaimed and she shook her head calmly "no, he is after the Heart of Isis and subsequently, this statute" she gestured to the silver goddess "which is why we had better keep it close. "He would not want me because I am the reincarnation of his beloved wife. He would be too ashamed to approach me due to the fact that Isis has told me what he has done. His wife was innocent and in all aspects it seems he wished to keep her that way" she explained. Jonathan was now sitting upright, awake, and shook his head slowly, nearly losing his balance in the process.

"Why is it that whenever we come to Egypt it is always because of some unknown artifact that Imhotep can use to take over the world? And why is he always on the upper hand?" he said taking his water canteen out and swigging from it quickly. The young priestess's eyes darkened "you might want to ask the Med-Jai that question" she grumbled "though heroic, they were the ones who decided to give Imhotep power over the sands and the chance of resurrection by cursing him. Had the whore been the one who was cursed then I doubt any of us would be in danger because she could not write nor read". Evelyn' s expression faltered and she looked at her feet "I cannot help feeling somewhat responsible" she said, lifting her head to look at her "cousin" and Farsiris looked perplexed momentarily then smiled.

"Do not worry Evelyn…I know who you are. Ardeth told me before I came to meet you. You see, the Med-Jai and I have a love/hate relationship. They killed and cursed my incarnation's husband whom I feel some love for, whether I want to or not. Yet they are bound to protect me because of the powers I possess and because of who my incarnation was. I see myself as a priestess of Isis, here to serve her for eternity, yet they see me as the pharaoh's eldest and most precious daughter. Because they are bound to their pharaoh, they are in turn bound to me as well" she said and Rick's eyes widened in realization "good grief…when he said he was getting married in a month and you came just after he said it, I thought you were his fiancée!" he exclaimed and Jonathan nodded in agreement. Farsiris grinned, clearly amused at the thought of this, "no" she said with a slightly musical laugh "Ardeth and I are fond of each other but he is my present day bodyguard, shall we say, and not really my type". Evelyn smiled and proceeded to lay down with her head in Rick's lap "what was Selkenauset like?" she asked holding her hand to her mouth to stifle a yawn.

Farsiris smiled "well, Nefertiri; that is a question that you should already know the answer to", her emerald eyes glittered dangerously and she tucked a wayward strand of dark hair behind one ear as she looked toward the sleeping Alex. "I will warn you of one thing" she said and Jonathan winced at the sharpness in her tone "here it comes" he muttered. Rick cocked his head to one side, his eyes narrowing in suspicion, while Evelyn sat up again "what is that?" she asked, patting her husband's hand. "Selkenauset loves Imhotep greatly, despite what he has done. While she is on your side for now, I cannot be sure if she will stay that way… be very, very, cautious, once we get close to the Heart" she said. "Pffff" Jonathan exclaimed, "not only is our buddy Imhotep back, but the woman who is to help us is schizophrenic" he threw up his hands in exasperation and sighed.

To everyone's surprise, Farsiris actually laughed "no Jonathan, I am about as schizophrenic as your dear sister Evelyn. I am simply a reincarnation and the feelings I had when I was Selkenauset, mingle amongst my present feelings as Evelyn's cousin. The duties of the temple and my faith in Isis are common ground for both of my selves. For the most part, my past memories help me remember spells and rituals and aid in resurrecting long lost temples from the desert" she explained carefully and Rick tightened his mouth, "but at the same time they also give you trouble with your emotions" he finished for her and was rewarded with a smile. "Yes" she said solemnly "I am sometimes divided between my dutiful nature and that of which he is a part", Farsiris looked at the sleeping Alex and felt a lump rise in her throat.

"Mother Isis, if I ever cause that child harm on Imhotep's behalf, you must kill me" she thought then turned back to look at Rick and Evelyn, who were leaning on each other. It had stuck her upon the first time she met them, what an odd couple they made. Rick was large in build, rough, jagged around the edges, forceful, and very authoritative while Evelyn was petite, delicate, undeniably intelligent and mentally indestructible. As the night wore on, Farsiris kept watch over the sleeping bunch, unable to sleep and somewhat fearful of what the next day could bring.

She watched Evelyn with the same protective eye as Selkenauset had used to keep an eye on Nefertiri, who, despite her slight form, had always managed to run into things. She remembered how Nefertiri had fallen in love with a Med-Jai warrior but had been forbidden to see him because of her status. Selkenauset had placed that particular med-jai warrior as her personal bodyguard just so that her younger sister could see him and be in his presence without their father becoming suspicious. Though their brother Rameses had been a handsome mature youth, Nefertari had had no feelings for him and he was obliged to marry her in order to become pharaoh.

He had been four years younger than she, and Selkenauset had watched the situation carefully from the beginning, well aware of the consequences of being caught impromptu by their father. Fortunately, her father had been delighted to find that she and his high priest were involved and had hauled them to the temple to be married almost immediately, much to their amusement and delight. For now, Selkenauset was quiet, relieved that her sister had found a new life that suited her and had never abandoned her native Egypt. Farsiris leaned back against the edge of the couch and sighed, Amun was just beginning his ascent into the sky and the clouds had dissipated overnight. Suddenly feeling restless, she rose from her seated position and walked silently out onto the balcony joined to the room.

A small smile crept across her face and quickly disappeared when she saw a small red glow on the horizon, a sign of an approaching sandstorm. Somehow, she knew what, who, that sandstorm was and her mouth went dry as she watched it until she could no longer see it without leaning over and betraying her presence. "Imhotep" she mouthed and looked in the direction of Hamunaptra almost instinctively then felt her heart fill with dread as she tried to think of what remained in the City of the Dead that he would find useful. Unfortunately none of the things she thought of, were comforting and when she saw several unrecognizable men walking around wearing gold paint and white linen smocks, a realization came to her that made her dizzy with shock and she nearly fainted "he has the book of Amun Ra".

She ran back inside the room, and nudged Evelyn who sat up immediately and rubbed her eyes "wake up" Farsiris said sternly "we have company". Jonathan leapt to his feet then promptly fell back onto his rear when Alex, demonstrating his mother's characteristic ability to sweep men off their feet in the literal sense, knocked his legs right out from under him. Farsiris giggled softly at the foul language this induced then sighed and shook her head as Rick hauled himself and Evelyn up to stand by the wall. "Let me guess. Immy's making a guest appearance in Thebes?" Jonathan yawned and Farsiris nodded solemnly.

The two men began to clean their guns while Alex watched, rubbing his eyes and mumbling something about stupid mummies. Evelyn walked over to Farsiris and leaned in close "where do we have to go to find the next puzzle piece?" she asked quietly. Farsiris went over the texts in her head and then pursed her lips thoughtfully "the texts say we have to go to the city of Osiris" she muttered and Evelyn froze "Hamunaptra" she said heavily and Farsiris nodded then jerked as Jonathan swore again. The two women exchanged grim glances then looked at the men.

It was going to be a long day.


	6. Chapter 5: the world in a grain of sando...

After making it to the outskirts of Thebes without any incident, the group found momentary refuge in a camel barn and, though it stank, it was free of mummies, ancient homicidal priests, and above all; scarabs. However, their destination had the potential of boasting all of those lovely things along with quite a few more unpleasant surprises. For the time being, they were safe and all took a moment to rest on grain sacks that were leaning against the back wall, and recollect their wits. Though they were all tired, the first complaint of the day, as usual, came from Jonathan "bloody smelly buggers" he muttered and Farsiris turned her head, looked him up and down, and grinned with uncharacteristic aplomb "maybe if you started snoring, it would cause mass panic and they would all leave" she suggested.

Rick snorted and Alex and Evelyn giggled. Jonathan looked at her as if wounded "I don't snore that loud" he retorted and Farsiris laughed "no, only loud enough to wake the dead" she said though most of her words were lost in a fit of giggles from both her and Evelyn. Jonathan exchanged exasperated looks with Alex, who was trying his very best not to join in the laughter and failing miserably. "Yeah well, around here the dead seem to raise themselves. And why the hell do we have to go back to bloody Hamunaptra anyway?" he whined, Evelyn squelched the last of her giggles and Farsiris was instantly silent.

The name of the city hung in the air like a black storm cloud and Rick shivered instinctively "because we have to find the next puzzle piece before Imhotep does, he is already five days ahead of us and likely already knows we were in the palace" Evelyn answered quietly, looking at Farsiris who nodded in agreement. "The temple scripts have pointed me in the direction of Hamunaptra, as did the silver goddess piece. However Imhotep knows we were in the temple of Isis and saw clearly that I am the high priestess" she said carefully unwrapping the goddess statue from her linen dress.

Jonathan sighed and shrugged "so what? We were in the temple and you are the high priestess; that surely won't tell him we were in the palace" he said, scratching his head in confusion. Farsiris shook her head and looked outside "he saw my face and therefore knows that his wife was reincarnated, by now he has been in the temple and will know that she was the one guarding the heart. He knows that I am with you and I know that there is a pathway leading to Selkenauset's bedroom from the temple. He will also likely have found Ardeth…" her voice trailed off and she bowed her head.

She knew better than to think that Imhotep would have let the Med-Jai warrior live, the priest had an intense hatred for the Med-Jai and even a body would be tormented or ripped apart by scarabs in order to remove it from his sight. More than likely, Ardeth had known it too when he had told her to tell his fiancée that he died fighting. Evelyn choked back tears and pulled Alex close, Rick and Jonathan gave each other grim looks while the camels, seemingly unconcerned, ate or dozed in their stalls. Looking outside, Farsiris could see the desert shifting in the sudden wind that had come up and sensed that a khamsin was in the making. She shook her hair back and rose "we must go. There will be a sandstorm soon and the closer we can get to Hamunaptra the more chances the storm will hide our tracks" she said straightening her linen.

The other four people got to their feet and followed her out into the desert wind then separated, the men went to fetch some camels and the women went after supplies for their journey. As they filled water jugs for them and food sacks for the camels, Evelyn looked at her cousin who had been quiet ever since they had left the barn "she probably feels filthy" she thought with pity; her sympathy towards the young woman was not unfounded. Priestesses were expected to shave everyday and take a cleansing bath at least twice daily for the morning and night rituals. It had already been a full day since the priestess at her side had last bathed. Yet Evelyn was curious about the full extent of the temple's involvement with the Med-Jai, because Ardeth had been tended to by a priestess who had not placed bias upon him for his religion despite Farsiris' warnings that men would not be cared for within the temple precincts. Evelyn made a mental note to ask her later when they were safely out of Thebes. The men came back with three camels and a black horse, and Rick shook his head "this was all they had left, so one of us will have to ride with another" he said and Farsiris nodded.

"I will take the horse" she said mournfully and Jonathan and Alex both protested but were quickly shushed by a sharp glance from both her and Evelyn. "Why does she get to ride the horse, while we deal with the smelly camels?" Alex complained, and Farsiris grinned humourlessly "because I am a holy woman and to ride a mere beast of burden would disgrace me. Besides, the one who rides the horse will have to distract Imhotep if he shows up since horses are much faster than camels" she said sweetly. For some reason, neither Alex nor Jonathan had anything to say to that and no longer wanted the horse. Farsiris checked the buckles and saddle then proceeded to hitch feed and water bags onto the lashes on the saddle then walked around to the front of the animal and held her hand out staring straight into the horse's eyes.

"No bucking, rolling, or jerking from you, clear?" she said sternly and the horse nodded its head, rubbing its nose into her palm then nudged the side of her face and she smiled. Jonathan shook his head in amazement "how on earth did you do that?" he asked and she turned to him "Isis rode a horse around Egypt to gather the pieces of Osiris, therefore had developed a strong bond with this particular species" she explained then walked around to the side and hoisted herself up into the saddle. Rick looked at Evelyn who smiled and he shrugged before pulling himself up onto his camel then pulled Alex up with him. "Farsiris goes first because she knows where we're going, better than I do. Evy, honey, you follow her, you women are our last hope if the big bad mummy comes after us...he'll be after me first, and Jonathan you follow Alex and I. Everyone keep your eyes peeled for any sand tornadoes or men in red and black robes riding camels" he said.

Farsiris nodded and smiled knowingly at Evelyn who pulled up beside her "you made a wise choice Nefertiri, he is a strong one" she said softly then gently urged the horse into a slow trot, the others falling into a line behind her. They only were riding for five minutes before the wind picked up and sand was flung at them with incredible force, Farsiris pulled a black veil out of a sack beside her and wrapped herself in it, covering her face so she wouldn't be blinded by sand. Evelyn did the same and Rick and Jonathan both used unwrapped turbans to keep the sand out of their eyes. Jonathan of course couldn't keep silent and after a couple of hours began singing Irish drinking songs, much to the amusement of the rest of them.

That night they settled down on the sheltered side of a large sand dune. There was no fire at Farsiris' insistence because it would be too obvious in the darkness, so they all wrapped themselves in blankets that they had brought and hunkered down for a long cold desert night. After a while it became painfully obvious to Farsiris that she wasn't going to fall asleep so she sat up and nearly yelped when a hand pressed against her shoulder. Finding it was only Evelyn she sighed "gods, do not creep up on me like that, I could have killed you" she said and Evelyn nodded "sorry" she apologized softly "I didn't mean to scare you but I can't sleep and I saw you were awake".

Farsiris smiled and nodded silently then patted the ground beside her in a silent motion for her to sit down. Evelyn sank down beside the young woman and looked at her curiously "I hope you don't mind my asking this, but what kind of relationship does the temple have with the Med-Jai? I noticed that priestess treating him when he was hurt in the temple but I thought that men would not be treated if they were not Osirian" she inquired and Farsiris sighed quietly and looked up at the stars "the Med-Jai are a necessary evil. The lesser of two, if I must say. They protect the temples from curses but at the same time, have tried to destroy them in the past. We try to avoid contact with them unless absolutely necessary" she explained calmly and placed a hand on Evelyn's shoulder "I know you are mourning the loss of your Med-Jai friend, Ardeth was very brave. But it was your son who saved your family for if he had not read the book you would not have been able to save Rick, and Alex and Jonathan would surely have died in the pyramid. The Med-Jai killed Loch Na but it was you, Evelyn, who killed Imhotep" she said gravely.

Evelyn looked at her in surprise "who told you about Am Shere?" she demanded and received a solemn smile "Nefertiri, I am inevitably connected to my husband when I am not inhabiting a mortal body. I went where he was and followed you as well. As your older sister, I have an obligation to protect you even if it is from my own husband" Farsiris said and left the answer hanging in the air. Evelyn then realized who had helped Alex bring her back and stared at the priestess "you reminded Alex about the black book, you helped him bring me back" and Farsiris shook her head "no, I kept Anck-Su-Namun occupied while Alex read the black book. If I had not helped Jonathan you would not be here now Nefertiri" she said and abruptly Evelyn looked confused.

"What did you do that would distract her?" she asked and Farsiris's eyes twinkled "Anck-Su-Namun despises me, all I had to do was stand in front of Jonathan and make myself visible to her and every punch she threw infuriated her more because she, as usual, was unable to defeat me. For my part I simply told Jonathan when to block and when I thought he had had enough of that I took hold of his arm and hit her in the face then laughed" she replied. A small smile came to her face and she looked over as another earthshaking snore from Jonathan broke the silence of the night "and your brother says he doesn't snore loudly" she remarked tapping her ears which were now ringing. Evelyn just laughed "Jonathan has never been a quiet sleeper, father used to say he scared the horses when we were out on digs" she giggled and Farsiris grinned, "I believe it she said and playfully threw a handful of sand at Jonathan.

He abruptly jumped about three feet in the air yelling "mummy!!" and landed on Rick who nearly shot him in the ass in the process of both trying to wake up and trying to pull his gun out in defense. Farsiris and Evelyn keeled over laughing, and had the feeling that Jonathan's exclamation had nothing to do with his mother. Rick grumbled "damn it Jonathan I could have killed you" then he noticed the two women laughing nearly hysterically over what had just happened and shook his head "one is bad enough, two are just trouble" he said then smiled half-heartedly while Jonathan scrambled to recover his wounded pride. Suddenly a noise sounded from the other side of the dune and all of them froze. Farsiris stood up and motioned for them all to be silent then pulled a dagger from her dress and silently climbed up to the top of the sand dune where she observed some sort of settlement on the other side. Her blood froze when she saw the characteristic black and red robes of Imhotep's followers as they went into tents and she noticed a man climbing up the dune, knife in hand, no doubt aware that the enemy was on the other side. Thanking Isis for her years of training in knife throwing, she held the dagger at the tip and whispered, "go back to Set".

The man lifted his head, saw her, and was just about to yell, when she launched the knife, which cleanly sliced the air then embedded itself deep in the man's chest. He moaned once in shock then died and slowly slid down until he crumpled at the base of the dune. Farsiris crawled then slid slowly down to the body then rolled the man over and pulled the dagger from his chest, looking nervously towards the camp to see if anyone had noticed her or the man. Thankfully the camp was silent and no lights were on, she sighed and murmured a prayer of thanks before crawling back up the dune, unaware of the silver ring that had slipped off her finger and now lay atop the man's body, waiting to be found.

Once she got back over she found her whole group awake "where were you?!" Jonathan shouted and Farsiris kicked him to quiet him "shut up you idiot!!" and he squeaked obediently, still holding the front of his pants. Evelyn stared at her cousin, Farsiris' eyes were wide and she was holding a semi bloody dagger that was covered in sand "Imhotep is here with his followers…one of them was climbing up the dune probably to keep watch and would surely have discovered us. We have to leave immediately, the sooner we get to holy grounds, the better" she said in a hushed voice, Rick nodded in agreement then proceeded to walk over to one of the camels, grinning at Jonathan as he passed. Evelyn offered a wet cloth with which Farsiris cleaned the dagger and after the knife was stored safely in her robes Evelyn leaned in closer "did he see you?" she asked softly. Farsiris shook her head "no, the camp was quiet when I left, no one was around except for that man" she responded then proceeded towards the camels to get ready to leave.

Once everyone was mounted and all of the supplies were packed and lashed to the saddles, they set off quietly across the sand towards Hamunaptra. Farsiris looked back, dread in her heart, at the place where they had nearly been discovered, hoping that no one would ever know they were there.

Imhotep sat in his tent, his keen hearing catching a few rustlings outside as the camp awoke for another day's journey towards the city that had been his tomb for nearly eternity. Since he had seen a woman he had thought he would never be allowed to see again. He had been restless, his wife was alive again, reincarnated as a priestess of Isis but still bearing the regal sensual yes gentle air that had attracted him to her in the first place. A sadness he didn't know he was capable of possessing had filled his heart. Ostensibly she knew what he had done, that he was cursed, he had seen the surprise on her face when he had first looked upon her at the temple. He had also seen another all too familiar face, the face of the woman who's husband had killed him not once but three times, and he knew that his beloved was now helping them. Unless he was able to get close enough to her to kiss her and make her his again, she would be lost to him.

He parted the fabric and stepped out into the rising Egyptian sun: Amun beginning his ascent into the sky as he always did at this time of morning. The scent of Jasmine met his nostrils briefly and he frowned, there were no women traveling with their party and certainly no priestesses of Isis, who were the only priestesses allowed to wear the signature scent of the goddess. Then the scent was gone, replaced by the smell of the desert and the scent of men and camels. Imhotep was bothered by the sudden appearance of the flowery smell in the desert. They were far from anything that could have that smell, unless… "My Lord! One of our guards has been killed" a man yelled and Imhotep jerked turning to face him "show me" he ordered. The man led him to the body of the guardsman lying in the sand at the base of a dune, a large red stain seeping across his chest from the stab wound above his heart.

The high priest's frown became a scowl...someone in the camp was a traitor "which one of you killed him?" He demanded and they all shook their heads "no one My Lord, the men were all in their tents, it looks as if he never made it to his position of watch" the man said and Imhotep nodded. Then a glint of silver in the fabric of the man's shirt caught his eye and he pushed a fold back to reveal a small but very familiar silver ring engraved with hieroglyphics. His immortal heart froze in his chest and the scent of jasmine met his nose again, he picked up the ring then smelled it, his suspicions were confirmed. The ring smelled of jasmine and tears filled his eyes, it was her betrothal ring: the ring he had given her in the temple many many years ago when she had been but 15 and he 19. He suddenly realized how he had failed, her ring and scent were here which meant that she herself had been close enough to kill his guard but he had not heard her.

She had been close enough to touch. "Bury his body" he commanded and they all nodded, not seeing the pain in his obsidian eyes, just following his orders like faithful dogs. His anger mounted and, clutching the ring, he stormed back to his tent, determined to get revenge on those who were keeping her from him. Once back inside his tent he turned the ring around in his hands, remembering her, remembering their love and the brief time they had had together. He remembered the anguish he had felt when his beloved, the other half of his soul, had died so that their tiny daughter could live.

There was no reason for her to die in childbirth…unbeknownst to the pharaoh and the physicians she had given borne him a daughter in their third year of marriage, also named Nefertari. Both mother and daughter had lived and he later found out that his eldest daughter had been married to the pharaoh's son Rameses and had been queen of Egypt until she died of fever after 30 years of marriage. The younger had died of an unknown illness when she was three, leaving her father to pick up the pieces of his once blessed life.

His trance was broken when one of his followers poked his head into the tent "the camp is ready to leave, Lord Imhotep" he said and Imhotep nodded "very well then" he responded then rose and put on his robes. A small smile crossed his face as he thought of his plan, she was ahead of him, that he knew, she had always been stubborn in that sense. He also knew that she had the silver goddess statue that was the key to finding the heart of Isis and that she herself knew where the heart was. His advantage however was that she didn't know that if he touched her, she would be his again, and that was what caused him to smile. It would only be a matter of time before she would be at his side again, where she belonged.

He left the tent and watched impassively as his helpers folded the structure up and loaded it onto a camel, then he set off with a grin to the rest of his shocked men who had never seen their master smile...well, except when he was about to kill someone. Once the party set off, Imhotep pulled a hood up to conceal the lower half of his face so that only his dark dark eyes were visible. After about 4 hours of sheer boredom, he caught the scent of jasmine once again and smiled. They were getting close.


	7. Chapter 6: an Ancient Secret Revealed

Chapter 6: An Ancient Secret Revealed

Farsiris swayed gently atop her horse, her silver bracelets and earrings glowing coldly in the light of the full desert moon; her behind was sore from a day's worth of steady riding but she did not complain as she yawned briefly and scanned the landscape. A day had passed and there had been no suspicious looking sandstorms, no signs of Imhotep and his followers, and surprisingly no sign of the Med-Jai either though she and her group were no more than four hours away from Hamunaptra. They would arrive, it seemed, in the early morning around three while it was still dark and they hoped to get the next puzzle piece and be out of sight of the city by the time the sun rose at seven. Alex and Evie were sleeping but Jonathan and Rick were still awake, following Farsiris who knew the way better than Rick.

He rode up beside her and looked at the young woman who appeared completely calm despite the danger they were about to take on "so where exactly so we need to go to find this piece? Hamunaptra is a really big bug filled city" he asked quietly and Farsiris smiled reassuringly. "Do not worry, Rick" she said using his name for the first time "the next piece is in the temple of Osiris at Hamunaptra. I merely need to put this statue on the matching place on the altar and the next piece will be shown to me" she explained and looked around again, sensing a change in the weather that disturbed her. This time she spotted a group of horses ridden by men dressed fully in black and carrying scimitars she felt her stomach tie itself in a knot.

"Who are they?" Rick demanded and Farsiris looked at him solemnly "the Med-Jai" she answered and he sighed, bowing his head, and his shoulders dropped "I wonder if they know about Ardeth" he said and she nodded, wincing as her neck cracked "it is likely, he often told his people that if he did not return within a day that they should send someone to search for him" she told him then steadied herself for a quick ride "I must go speak with them, keep moving towards the city" she commanded then firmly prodded her horse into a quick trot towards the group of Med-Jai who stopped as soon as they saw her coming. Farsiris sighed and pulled her hood down so that they could see who she was and the leader put his scimitar back at his side "priestess" he said "we were not sure if it was some follower of the Creature or you we saw. We are glad it is the latter" he said with a small smile.

She nodded solemnly "we also were unsure of who you were at first…for Imhotep's followers wear black robes as well but theirs have red in them" she said and all of them sighed with relief. The leader also nodded but then his stern face took on a worried expression "Ardeth Bay told us you were on your way to Hamunaptra to get the next piece for the puzzle to find the Heart of Isis. Is this true?" he asked and upon seeing her surprised expression he smiled "yes, he managed to make it out of the temple alive to contact us, he is at the camp now, resting so that his wounds may heal". Farsiris bit her bottom lip slightly "yes Akmad, we must reach the city in an hour so that we can leave while it is still dark. So far there has been no sign of Imhotep" she answered and he placed one hand upon her shoulder.

"That is because he is already within the city, Farsiris. He is waiting for you. Thankfully one of my men managed to get the scripts containing the directions to the Heart, before the creature entered the city. However we cannot read Egyptian" he said making a face and her heart sank then she realized that Rick and Evelyn were still on their way to Hamunaptra and waved her head scarf at them to bring them over. Turning back to the leader she eyed him gravely "so the scripts are within your camp and Imhotep is waiting at Hamunaptra waiting to ambush me to get the silver goddess statue. Good gods can it get any worse?" she muttered and he laughed slightly then nodded "yes Farsiris, it could be much worse. He could have killed you all in Thebes but thanks to you, everyone made it out alive. However we still need to solve the puzzle of the scripts" he said, she smiled "if you can take us to your camp I can translate them and we'll be on our way to the definite location of the heart" she suggested carefully.

He nodded "so be it then" then yelled something to his men and Farsiris turned to Evelyn who was now beside her and trying to shush a tired but panicked Alex. "Imhotep is already in Hamunaptra, waiting for us. Thankfully the Med-Jai managed to secure the scripts detailing the location of the Heart and have them within their camp so we are going there and then going directly to the Heart of Isis. Ardeth survived somehow to tell them that we were coming so they were expecting us. It was just a stroke of good luck that they managed to catch us before Imhotep did" she said grimly and Evelyn's eyes widened in shock then she turned and told Rick who threw up his hands "great! Can anything else go wrong?" he exploded and Farsiris laughed "of course, we could all be dead" she pointed out and Jonathan thought for a moment then turned to his brother-in-law "you know, my good chap, she has a bloody good point" he said and Evelyn nodded "true".

Farsiris turned to the leader of the men "we must go then. We have little time left" she said urgently and he nodded then they all turned their horses around and trotted toward the Med-Jai camp. It took a good seven hours to reach the camp and as they rode in, many warriors came out of the tents to see the arrival of their comrades along with four people they had seen before and one they had only ever heard about. The women, clad in black, some with gold bracelets, gasped at the sight of Farsiris, in her white linens and silver jewellery, looking as out of place as a horse in a herd of camels. But she merely smiled cheerfully and moved through the camp with the others in tow towards where the leader had told her Ardeth was resting.

A young woman with long black hair, kohl rimmed amber eyes and wearing layers of translucent black linen emerged from the tent, "Ardeth's fiancée" Farsiris thought and smiled when the woman looked at her, startled to see this woman whose beauty was renowned throughout the temple and Med-Jai circles alike. She was said to be the reincarnation of an ancient princess and the guardian of an artifact that could destroy them all if in the wrong hands. The woman bowed slightly and straightened the eyed the group suspiciously, Farsiris smiled calmly "do not worry, we wish him no harm. He has the scripts which I need to save your people" she said reassuringly and a small smile spread across the young woman's face.

"Yes priestess, the scripts are with him and he is awake, you may enter" she said softly and then brushed past them with a curious look at Evelyn who thought she recognized her from somewhere but couldn't remember where. Farsiris, however remembered and smiled at the look on Evelyn's face "you may remember her Nefertiri, she was your nursemaid for several years until you became a woman then she was married to the Leader of the Med-Jai" she explained quietly then slowly entered the tent to see Ardeth sitting in his makeshift bed propped up on pillows so that he would not move his broken ribs. He was wearing a loose black caftan and had an amulet of status around his neck, a relieved smile crossed his face when he saw her "thank Allah… you are still alive. I was not sure if my men had gotten to you in time but it appears that they moved quickly" he said softly, wincing briefly in pain.

"No my friend, thank the gods that you are still with the living. I was sure that Imhotep had killed you" she said and touched his hand gently in a gesture of friendship. He swallowed and managed a short laugh "no, the creature was after you. Without you he can do nothing for you are the true key to what he seeks. The scripts are on the table; read them and take them with you when you leave tonight" he said then grimaced. Farsiris nodded "thank you" she said, relinquishing his hand, and moved to the table, letting the others fuss over their injured friend. Ardeth looked at Evelyn and Rick and smiled "so you are still here" he said and abruptly his face clouded over, his expression becoming one of worry "Evelyn, Nefertiri, protect your sister from the creature. For if he kisses her she will no longer be an ally of ours" he breathed and she nodded, Rick looked over at Farsiris in concern as she poured over the ancient papyrus scrolls, muttering to herself in Egyptian.

A few moments later she straightened and rolled up the scripts then stood and put them in a sack she had been given "our next destination is clear to me, from what I have read, the locations of the pieces are written in riddles. The present riddle is telling me that the next area we must go to is an oasis about an hour away from the temple of Abu Simbel" she stated simply and Evie wrinkled her nose "but why? There is no temple there except Abu Simbel and that oasis is nothing but palm trees and sand" she said, looking perplexed. Farsiris nodded and grinned "which makes it the perfect place to hide a piece to this puzzle, no one would ever expect it to be there" she pointed out then smiled at Ardeth and knelt down on the mat by one corner of his bed "we had might as well get comfortable, we can't leave until nightfall anyway" she said and they all proceeded to sit down when Ardeth called for his sister to bring them cushions to lay on.

This time Farsiris slept, the scrolls tucked protectively in her arms, while Evie dozed off in Rick's arms. Rick, however, stayed awake to watch over them and Ardeth saw him looking over at Farsiris with a thoughtful look on his face "it is not hard to see the resemblance, is it my friend?" Ardeth said quietly and Rick looked up at him and nodded "it was hard to believe at first but ever since I heard they were sisters, I have seen more and more of Farsiris in Evie and that disturbs me a bit. I wonder how close they were in their past lives" he answered. Ardeth thought for a few moments then smiled at his comrade "apparently the sisters were very close. They formed close bonds in order to look out for each other as the only two royal women left. When Ankh-Su-Namun entered the palace, Nefertari was only 10, Selkenauset was 18 and she and Imhotep had been married for a year already, however that didn't stop her from hating the newcomer" he said quietly and sat back with a heavy sigh, pulling the blankets up to cushion his ribs "for all of these years, I have been her protector, and I never will understand her, Farsiris nor Selkenauset. However I love her dearly as I would one of my own family" he said.

Rick looked at his friend then a slow grin spread across his face "do I sense a bit of a love square going on here?" he asked incredulously, Ardeth's head jerked around to stare at him with a look of perplexed indignation on his features "excuse me?" he demanded then Rick smiled again "well you love Farsiris, but your fiancée loves you, and Farsiris is involved with Imhotep who also loves her and hates you" he explained as best he could. He suddenly felt a small hand on his arm, causing him to nearly have a heart attack, but he settled once he realized that the hand didn't belong to a member of the undead but a young woman with an ancient soul.

Her full lips curved into a gentle smile, Farsiris stared at them with her glittering feline eyes as she reclined on the cushions that had been brought for her, the scrolls protectively nestled against her body. The conflicting emotions in her eyes, quickly gave way to amusement which made the two men wonder how long she had been listening to them "what Ardeth means is that he loves me as a brother would love his sister. Not the type of love you are thinking of, Rick" she stated plainly, then sat up and stretched briefly before looking at the scrolls in her hands thoughtfully as she pondered over the contents, oblivious to Ardeth's agreement with her statement and Evelyn's mumbled question as she too woke from her nap "what's going on?".

A few hours later, after a meal of roasted lamb, couscous, and a pepper salad and saying a lengthy goodbye to Ardeth, the five travellers returned to their camels and horse to find that the Med-Jai women had prepared them with water, food, and grain for their trip. Farsiris swung herself into the saddle, with a grace unseen in many horsewomen, while Jonathan got himself stuck on his camel's back like a sack of potatoes until Rick and Evelyn managed to get him seated the right way, but not before the Med-Jai had had a few good laughs at the struggle. Farsiris grinned at the flustered Englishman, as Rick and Evelyn mounted their camels, before saluting the Med-Jai and urging her horse into a slow trot. The group set out across the vast stretch of the Sahara once more, Jonathan complaining, Alex laughing, Rick muttering to himself, Evelyn shaking her head, and Farsiris already absorbed in the scrolls that contained the clues for the pieces.

After 3 days, they reached the temple of Abu Simbel then took another day to find the oasis. It was, as they had expected, a small outgrowth of palms in a bit of grass that stuck out like a sore thumb in the desert. Rick and Jonathan kept watch on either side of it, for any signs of Imhotep, while Farsiris, Evelyn, and Alex scoured the floor of it for anything resembling a hieroglyph or puzzle piece. After and hour or so Farsiris was just beginning to get frustrated when she noticed a small growth of jasmine in the centre of the oasis between two palms "the flower of Isis," she thought and made her way over to it feeling inside the plant and smiled when her fingers touched a hard engraved surface. She moved the plant gently aside and brushed the sand out of the engraving then placed the bottom of the silver statue in the engraved place.

At first, nothing happened then they all heard a slight vibrating noise then the silver goddess toppled over and revealed a small square compartment with a silver ring in it. Farsiris gasped and gently took the ring out of the hollow and looked at it critically then shook her head in awe and stood: it was the signet ring of the Princess. She shouted to Evelyn and Alex that she had found it and the two immediately abandoned the ground and came over to her to look at the ring, at that moment Farsiris felt a chill go down her spine and she felt as though they were being watched. The uneasy feeling returned after they had finished dinner that night and were laying out blankets to go to sleep. Farsiris sat on hers, reading the scripts and realized that not only had the Med-Jai grabbed the scrolls for the puzzle, they had also grabbed two scrolls concerning the execution of the Hom Dai curse.

She frowned slightly and put the scrolls down, then something occurred to her "if the O'Connells killed him twice already and he was still able to be resurrected then there must be a condition to prevent him from being resurrected that doesn't involve destroying the Book of the Dead and angering the gods" she thought "because the gods would not want to see the world destroyed by a single demon who, in the essence of the curse, was given very much the same physical powers of the gods and the immortality but without benefit of emotion". She picked the scrolls up and unravelled the first one, read it and shook her head in rejection then put it back and picked up the second one. In it she found the passage she was looking for "he who is cursed with the Hom-Dai, can only be redeemed if the reason for his being cursed is eliminated by the one whose reason bestowed it, if that one is no longer living, then the reincarnation of that individual must take on the responsibility of disassembling the curse".

Her brow furrowed in concentration and she lifted her head to think. "He was cursed because he killed Seti, yet Ankh-Su-Namun was not though she dealt the first blow. He was in love with her not by his own conviction because he was a priest and was described by Selkenauset as having extreme self-discipline and respect for his pharaoh, which means that the influence of Osiris was overruled by that of he who betrayed him" she thought then nodded "Ankh-Su-Namun was seen going into the temple of Set, by Nefertiri who reported it to her father but he saw nothing of it". A sad frown spread across her face and she shook her head mournfully "so Set was responsible for Imhotep's downfall but why then and not before?" keeping this in mind, she rolled the scrolls back up neatly and put them into her bag then lay down.

Closing her eyes, she focused on her past memories "Selkenauset, you know the answer; tell me so our people will be safe" she said silently and suddenly, the memories began to appear. The pain of childbirth, the pain in Imhotep's eyes as he watched her get farther and farther away though her body did not physically move and she saw the tear that slid down his cheek as her ka rose from her body, holding the hand of Osiris. The cry of their newborn daughter was followed by Imhotep's anguished cry as he felt her throat and found that she had no pulse; then she saw only darkness. All at once Farsiris bolted upright gasping as if, she too were dying, and she focused on the connection "Selkenauset died and Imhotep lost his mind. The hold of Isis on him was diminished so the other half of his soul was lost and naturally when one's soul is wounded one searches for any soul with relation to his own…that being any of family. The closest soul to that would be Nepthys, his sister, however she was not there so he sought out his brother: Set" she thought then came upon it unexpectedly.

"Selkenauset's death has to be reversed by either her or a reincarnation of her, which would be me. But how?" she wondered then lay down again and, surprisingly, fell into a deep sleep. However, her dreams were troubled, and she was jolted awake by the cry of a newborn child "Selkenauset died in childbirth with Imhotep's child so naturally if her death was to be reversed she would have to go through pregnancy again and live through the birth" she thought and once they had packed up and were on their way across the desert again towards Philae, she began thinking again. However, only once she saw the ruins of a temple dedicated to Tauret did she understand how to reverse the curse on Imhotep and the realization of what had to be done was so immense and obvious that she nearly fainted. Evelyn apparently saw her face go pale and, wondering why as well as why she had had been so silent, asked "what's wrong Farsiris?". Farsiris turned her head, her feline eyes wide in shock and sadness, to face Evelyn and said:

"I have to give birth to Imhotep's child"


	8. Chapter 7: Memories of Eternity

I'm truly sorry that it has taken me so long to finish this but I am in my first year of university and have been bogged down with readings and homework. Much thanks to all of those who have been kind enough to review. Your encouragement has kept me going. I'm not sure how long it will take me to post the next chapter but I tend to work better under pressure so get on my ass about it and it will get done sooner lol. Finally, without further ado, here is Chapter 7.

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It took a long time to tell the story of Selkenauset and Imhotep and of why Farsiris had to have Imhotep's child. At the time she had proclaimed that she had to give birth, Rick almost decided to kill her, Evelyn nearly fell off her camel, Jonathan fainted in the saddle, and Alex looked on with a perplexed look on his face, wondering what all the fuss was about. Now, three hours later, Evelyn and Rick, at least, understood the reason although Alex was still confused and Jonathan was still trying to get his head around the fact that Imhotep would be reproducing. Again. 

Farsiris looked at Jonathan who was still staring off into space with the funniest expression on his face and she shook her head gravely "if I can't get Jonathan to understand how Imhotep's curse can be reversed, it will be a hundred times harder to explain it to the Med-Jai" she thought sadly then shook her head to dispel those thoughts. She would deal with it after they had saved the heart of Isis; that was their first priority and she would stick to it. However her mind was on overload and she thought about the priest as they followed the Nile towards Aswan. That night, when they settled down on the riverbank, Farsiris explained that all of the puzzle pieces were needed in order to retrieve the heart from its keeper and so long as they had one or more of the puzzle pieces Imhotep would never be able to activate the heart. Evelyn smiled "well we have one of the pieces so why don't we just try and kill Imhotep now?" she asked and Farsiris shook her head.

"We have to activate the heart in order to defeat him, because now Imhotep will chase us all over the earth if we have that piece….besides, he already has the book of Amun Ra so that option is out" she muttered. This information triggered another near-faint from Jonathan who was, as usual, stone drunk and Farsiris cast him a disgusted look as he took another swig from his wine bottle. "How can he drink that… camel piss?" she asked, looking somewhat dismayed, Evelyn laughed "you'd be amazed what he can take down, he drinks more than the pharaohs did" she giggled and Farsiris grinned shaking her head "though I believe our father could have given him a run for his money" she said referring to Seti, which only made Evelyn laugh harder. She nodded in agreement "yes, I believe he did, and mother always got angry with him for being drunk at banquets" she recalled giggling.

Farsiris shook her head disdainfully "as I remember he even got drunk at my wedding" she said and Jonathan turned his head around to look at her "I don't blame the poor bugger. Anyone whose daughter is marrying a homicidal ancient priest, deserves to get drunk" he slurred and she glared at him "Imhotep wasn't ancient nor homicidal when I married him, in fact he was very quiet and solemn, rarely drank, and had a good temper" she stated primly and Evelyn sighed "yes I seem to remember a bit of that part too, he was always good to you. After your death though I think he may have lost his mind" she muttered thoughtfully. Rick, who until now had been watching the exchange with a bit of perplexity in his expression, shuddered and was feeling just a little uncomfortable. He had not yet fully gotten used to the idea that in a past life, these two had been sisters and now they were talking about things that had happened while they had last been living. Things that included Imhotep.

"Could we please get off of subjects involving murder, dead people, and Imhotep?"" he interrupted and Farsiris grinned while Evelyn simply gave him a thoughtful but amused smile "are we bothering you dear?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes and Rick shook his head "no it's just scaring me how even now you two can still remember perfectly what happened to you three thousand years ago, the thing that bothers me is that Imhotep was involved too" he answered abruptly reaching around to scratch his lower back, Farsiris ran one hand through her hair with a smile on her pretty face and looked at Alex who had been silent for the past half hour. Since Jonathan was too drunk to argue with him the boy had had little to contribute to the conversation but now he raised his head from the book he had been reading and looked at Farsiris with interest in his eyes "please don't stop. I like hearing about how things were in Ancient Egypt. I think it's cool" he said. She simply exchanged triumphant grins with Evelyn and Rick groaned in defeat, turning away to stare at the desert.

After putting up with Jonathan's drunkenness for a few days, Farsiris finally hid all of his alcohol in a sand dune so that they would leave it behind when they packed up the next morning. Supper was quiet that night and they all settled in early but, as usual, Farsiris was unable to sleep. She kept thinking of Imhotep and of Selkenauset, their life together and her death. The memories she had of him were sparse, small details here and there, but none of those details corresponded to what he was doing now and had done before. He had been the epitome of the strong silent type, quiet, mysterious, and full of power yet gentle and kind, a sensuous being with the capable hands of an artist. She did not understand why he had changed nor why he had killed their father for the whore that he had so despised when she had first come to the palace.

It didn't make any sense but just as she was about to doze off, she suddenly felt a cool pale grey fog descend over her and a woman's voice came out of it "I have left you in the dark long enough my daughter, now it is time that you see the truth" the voice said and suddenly the fog cleared and her vision went black

_She was in the birthing chamber again and as she floated up out of her body she saw Imhotep grab her hand and lean over her face "no!" he cried but she was already gone. His face crumpled in anguish and she saw tears run down his cheeks as a distraught Nefertiri took the baby from the nurse and cradled the little girl who, upon seeing her weeping father, began to cry also. Then she saw her father, Seti, slumped against the doorframe, an expression of disbelief upon his features. The fog closed over the scene, hiding the figures of her loved ones and the last thing she heard was Imhotep's voice "my beloved". Then she was in the temple of Set, and watched as none other than Ankh-Su-Namun came in wearing the plain white frock of an under- priestess and no make-up._

_The woman knelt near the altar and began to pray and stayed that way for a good ten minutes. In consecutive order she saw Ankh-Su-Namun's seduction of Imhotep, her further prayers to Set, and Imhotep's ever decreasing visits to the temple of Osiris. After witnessing one of their visits where her father's mistress offered the high priest some wine, she felt the evilness of Set surround them both and realized that Ankh-Su-Namun had had Set's priest bless the wine so that whoever drank it would be possessed by the evil of the god. After this she saw them meet several times and Imhotep had changed considerably, all of his intelligence was now being put toward working out how he could see her next without pharaoh knowing instead of being spent in the service of Osiris. _

_She witnessed the fight between Nefertiri and Ankh-Su-Namun and saw how the mistress drew on Set's evil to defeat the young princess twice but Nefertiri also saw the look that passed between Imhotep and their father's mistress. After that came the murder of their father and she saw Nefertiri fall from her balcony to the stone courtyard below. At this point she screamed as Nefertiri's soft body made impact with the stone and kept screaming as the fog began to cloud her vision again. _

A scream sounded into the night and Farsiris bolted upright as the flash of a torch went past swiftly but she couldn't see the bearer. Her eyes cleared instantly and a scene of chaos greeted her, Rick was shooting at figures with torches that were moving off into the distance while Jonathan cowered behind one of the camels and Evelyn screamed her son's name repeatedly. "The boy's been taken" was Farsiris' firs thought and when she jumped to her feet, the look on Evelyn's face confirmed her suspicions "they came about fifteen minutes ago and Alex has just been kidnapped, we thought they had killed you" she gasped and Farsiris shook her head "no they wouldn't kill me, tell your irritating brother to make himself useful and saddle the camels, we have to go...now!" she ordered sternly and went off to saddle up her horse, stepping over the body of one of Imhotep's men who had been hit by a bullet in the chest. Evelyn stared at the priestess for a moment then hauled her brother out and slapped him to his senses before telling him to pack up camp.

As they saddled up, Rick went swiftly over to Farsiris and glared at her "what's going on here!" he yelled and she turned to him with a grave look on her face that silenced him "your son has been taken in order to be used as bait for me. Imhotep knows that I, as a priestess of Isis, am bound by the law of the gods to protect children and as a result will come to save your son. This means that we must tread carefully and silently, Mr O'Connell, because if he kisses me and I'm not prepared; we are all doomed" she explained tersely then mounted the horse and checked the reins carefully "why don't we wait until daylight when we can actually see something?" Rick demanded of Farsiris, who was deep in thought before his voice interrupted her. "Because I know where he's taking them and we have no time to waste if we're going to get your son back alive" she muttered then broke off at a swift trot, into the desert.

About two hours later Farsiris eyed the enemy camp as she and the others waded across a shallow spot in the river. True to her claim, she had found where Imhotep had taken his men and Alex, and it was no other than a temple of Hathor where a spring continually disgorged itself into a pool in the temple square that had been made into a bathing house. She had known they would go there, hoping to elude her by taking refuge in the shelter of another goddess who, ironically, was no less irked by Imhotep's betrayal of his wife than Isis was. Hathor had shown her the way in her moments of thought before Rick had asked about their time of travel and Selkenauset didn't doubt the goddess' instructions. But, in the process, she had realized that this was a prime opportunity to set in motion events that could save Imhotep as well and, in doing so, bring a final end to the Med-Jai curse that had been hanging over the head of Egypt for more than 3,000 years. As they reached the halfway point, the camp remained dark and for now they could breathe.

"Be very silent, the hearing of the undead is very acute" she warned softly and Evelyn nodded, her face pale and tight-lipped, Rick's anger had faded and left behind an aching grief at his failure, Ardeth's near death, and the loss of his son. This was the second time he had failed to protect Alex and, if what Farsiris had said before about removing the curse was true, it would be the last. Farsiris was aware of what would have to happen in order to get Alex back and she could see that her companions were worried about one of the after-effects of the curse. They knew that if Imhotep kissed her she would become his again but what they didn't understand was that though she was the reincarnation of Selkenauset, she and the Princess were separate minds within the body. She knew what to do to ensure that Selkenauset would not interfere, the pregnancy would calm the princess and allow Farsiris to subtly persuade her to do the right thing for the sake of the baby, her sister, and the world.

"If you want to end his suffering and see him in the next world, then you must listen" she thought, she had explained to them what had to be done. Once they got Alex back, she would go with Imhotep and they would go back to the Med-Jai camp and tell the men that she had died saving them and that Imhotep was gone. The rest would be solely up to her. Once it was a month before the time for her to have the child she would mail them a letter to let them know and they would travel back to Egypt to assist her in the birth. Only then would they know that the curse was successfully put to rest for eternity. Jonathan spotted a terribly familiar black dot moving across the sand and he swallowed hard "Rick, there's a scarab on the beach and I don't think it's there to get a tan" he stammered quietly, Rick reacted by grabbing the back of Evelyn's shirt and she yelped softly before Farsiris's hand went across her mouth. "Quiet!" the priestess whispered sternly but it was already too late, the tents nearest to them lit up and they could only watch as men began swarming out.

"Get under the water, they mustn't see you!" she said urgently and Rick and Evelyn ducked under then, after a moment, pulled a stunned Jonathan down with them. Farsiris stood alone and unarmed, in her thin linen dress and priestess jewellery, facing at least fifty men all of whom carried a sword or gun of some sort. At the moment her odds of getting out of this one unscathed looked pretty slim to anyone who was watching but within her she knew what she had to accomplish and how to get it. She held up her hand until it was high enough that all of the men could see the silver signet ring glowing coldly in the moonlight and one of them gasped, recognizing the signature. The man who had gasped came forward and bowed, much to the amazement of his colleagues "your highness, welcome to our humble camp, Lord Imhotep is in the bath at the moment" he said swiftly and one of the men beside him jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow "what are you doing you idiot?" he demanded and the man glared at him "do not behave as such in front of Lord Imhotep's consort. This is her Highness Princess Selkenauset, daughter of Isis, wife of our master, and guardian of the Heart of Isis" he hissed.

The other men all turned to stare at her and backed away slightly, they had heard stories of this woman from their master, a woman who could turn a man to dust with a flick of her hand and command the water of the Nile much in the same way Imhotep could control sand. The larger man's face fell and his eyes widened as he looked at her then immediately bowed "my apologies your highness" he stuttered and she nodded with a smile of satisfaction. Turning aside to the leader she stared him straight in the eye with an intimidating glance "I would like one of you to take me to my husband and another to release the boy that you have taken. He means us no harm and nor do his parents" she said and her confidence was such that the men found it literally impossible to doubt what she said and their leader nodded in agreement.

"Release the boy!" he bellowed "we have no need of him now" then he motioned for her to follow him further into the camp as Alex came running out. He bore a couple of scratches on one arm and a small bruise on his forehead but was otherwise unharmed. Farsiris told him to go across the Nile to the reeds then she turned around and followed the leader of Imhotep's men. The camp was larger than she had expected and she looked around solemnly at the dozens of men milling about, "so this is what the Med-Jai have done" she thought "they bestowed the so-called "curse" of immortality upon a man who is well educated in numerous methods that he can use to destroy the world". The irony of it nearly made her laugh as she went deeper into the ruins, praying that Alex had made it back to his parents safely.

She was soon jolted out of her gloomy thoughts by the leader's voice "he is in the bathing chamber. I presume that you being a priestess you know where it is in the temple" the man said flatly and she turned to him, "of course, I do" she responded, her tone of voice sharp enough to rival the sword at the man's waist. He stepped back at the defensive look in her eyes and she smiled coldly "now make yourself useful and go get those men to bathe, we have a long day tomorrow if we want to reach the next place by nightfall" she ordered then spun on her heels and went into the temple. It was as she remembered it except that the roof had fallen in and she had to pick her way through the rubble, in the doorway across from her, she saw the flickering light characteristic of flames and heard the sound of moving water hitting stone.

Carefully moving around the various piles of stone, as to not make any noise, Farsiris made her way to the door and peered inside. There was the spring, bubbling into the stone pool and, in the middle of the pool, a man stood up to his waist in the water. The calm light of candles flickered across his muscular frame, making his skin glow gold, the light contrasted with her memory of his dark eyes and as she stood there, she had to remind herself that it was a curse and not a man that she was dealing with.

Her breath involuntarily became shallow and she quickly began racking her brain for things to say "now how to do this" she thought, however the knowledge eluded her. Sighing in frustration she turned to her last resort, she turned and faced the altar across the partially collapsed room then stood quietly and closed her eyes "Princess, you know what has to be done and how to do it. Please, in the name of Isis and for the sake of the world, take this body I offer you and save your country" she said softly in ancient Egyptian. Reaching up, she rubbed her amulet with the hand that had the Princess' ring on it and waited; a few moments later she felt a soft puff of air on her face and opened her eyes to see Selkenauset, or at least her soul, standing in front of her with a benevolent smile on her face. "I accept your offer" the woman whispered and walked into Farsiris' body, all of a sudden, the pieces of her memory were replaced and new pieces were added. Her knowledge was added to by that of the Princess and she felt a new consciousness replace her own.

The princess asserted herself and Farsiris moved back into her subconscious, all at once, the familiar face belonged to its rightful owner again. Selkenauset observed her surroundings with a frown, turning her eyes up to the now-absent ceiling "good gods, how it has changed" she thought 'this temple used to be so beautiful", however she was wrenched away from her thoughts by the sight of her husband moving around in the bathing pool. "Imhotep" she thought and was suddenly confused as to why he was here but Farsiris provided her with the answer and she thanked her profusely, her head still reeling from the swift change from soul to body. Once she had gotten her bearings, Selkenauset focused on the task at hand though her violent emotions were threatening to turn her inside out at the sight of the man she had loved so much "he has become a stranger" she reminded herself "the man you loved is not standing here, he is a prisoner of Set and can only be released by the birth of a child".

It was all well and good to tell herself that but it would have been easier if he had changed in someway, if the muscles in his back were not tight as they had been before, if he had abandoned his priesthood and let hair had grow on his head. But nothing had changed, he was still bald and fit just as if no time had passed at all and he were still a priest to be loved by all, not a curse to be feared by all. She walked into the room quietly observing him, nearly brought to tears by the smell of sandalwood that reminded her of their wedding night. She firmly pushed the memories back and faced him and though he still stood with his back to her; that would change momentarily.

"Imhotep" she said softly then wondered if he had heard her, or if he had forgotten the sound of her voice in the three thousand years of torment he had been through. However, he turned around slowly with a displeased look on his face that immediately gave way to an expression of shock and, deeper down, pain. His dark eyes riveted on her, he moved forward until he was close enough to her to touch her then she knelt down and placed one hand on either side of his neck. He couldn't believe she was here and at first he thought it was the priestess who also inhabited her body but the tone with which she said his name was unmistakeable as was the emotion that filled her emerald eyes. No tears fell from those large eyes, no sobs broke from her chest and she did not collapse into his arms and lean her head upon his shoulder in despair.

Only an unspeakable sadness remained in her gestures and on her beautiful face and she leaned forward and kissed his shaven head reverently "my beloved, what are you doing here?" he inquired and she smiled, her eyes becoming cool and somewhat haughty "it is funny that you should ask that, my love, because I was about to pose that question to you" she said and he sighed heavily, a sound she knew well "it is a long story" he said after a long pause. He felt awkward around her, and suddenly ashamed of what he had become for he thought that surely the gods would have told her of his crime. Selkenauset raised her eyebrows then sat down on the edge of the pool and drew him towards her so that he was standing between her legs, her toned calves and tiny feet immersed in cool spring water. Tilting her face down slightly she kissed him and the heated touch of her lips upon his after years of coldness, nearly made him come undone. After a few moments she pulled away from him and regarded him intensely with a sly smile on her face and said:

"We have plenty of time"


	9. Chapter 8: Imhotep's Rose

Chapter 8: Imhotep's Rose 

After three thousand years she lay back in her husband's arms again, felt his hands on her skin, and felt him complete her as he had during the night after their marriage. The lovemaking was intense and they took their time, learning each other's features all over again, in a tireless pursuit that ended in a shower of light and heat as the waves of pleasure hit their entwined bodies. In the aftermath; Selkenauset lay under him and held him, breathing heavily, while praying for the infant that would break the horrible spell over her husband that prevented him from coming to join her in the underworld. In the back of her mind she heard Farsiris echoing her prayers and she smiled, the other priestess was not as strange as she had first thought. She recognized many of her own traits in the young woman and, oddly enough, it reassured her: the Heart had a good guardian in this time.

A little while later she looked at her sleeping husband and, as her own eyelids began to grow heavy, she thought of her fate, of their little daughter who waited for her mother and father to come back. Also prominent in her thoughts was the Book of Amun Ra which she was sure her husband had possession of "I have to get that book before this week ends" she thought drowsily and tucked her face against the skin of Imhotep's neck. She knew what had to be done, first it was necessary for Imhotep to be mortal in order for her to be able to plead his case viably to the gods. For that she would need the book of Amun Ra and much cleverness to keep the evil within him from killing her. Once Imhotep could feel emotions again and she determined that she was with child, she had to invoke the power of the Heart of Isis and embark on a journey to the tribune of Gods and Goddesses to plead her husband's case. During this time, she would be unconscious and her body would have to be kept at Philae, washed twice everyday and dressed in clean linen.

Priestesses and her husband himself would have to pray for her safe return from when they woke to when she was bathed in the morning and then from when she was bathed in the evening until they went to bed. If anyone lapsed in the routine she would be sent back to the underworld with her unborn child and her body would die, leaving Farsiris' soul to wander the Earth until the time when she would normally have died. If she did not succeed in pleading her husband's case, he would be sent back to his purgatory and she would be returned to the underworld with her child, disgraced, but Farsiris would live. It was a dangerous pursuit but if everything went well, Imhotep would be sent to the underworld immediately and the child would be born at the end of the current Egyptian month. If she succeeded in giving birth without the death of either her nor her child, she and the baby would be blessed by the goddess and would be reunited with her husband and daughter in the underworld immediately after the birth, leaving Farsiris in her body to live as she had before, only without the burden of the Heart of Isis.

For now, she could only hope that her husband would let her help him, he had changed much over the time he had been without her and the look in his eyes had sent chills up her back several times during their lovemaking. She drifted off to sleep uncertain about the coming day and hoping that Alex, Evelyn, Jonathan, and Rick had gotten back to the Med-Jai camp unharmed. The next morning, she was wakened rather quickly by both the feeling of movement and a sickening spinning feeling in her stomach, the feeling invoked memories of her last pregnancy and she knew her prayers had been answered. However the rest of the situation made her panic, her hands and feet were bound with thick rope and she was sitting upright on the back of a moving camel and clothed in a hooded thin black linen robe.

The small silver goddess statue was tucked in the front of her robe and she breathed a sigh of relief for she thought that she had lost it in the chaos the night before. Her relief was short lived when she saw her husband riding on a camel next to hers and that hers was tethered to his to keep her from leaving his side. The sickening feeling in her stomach worsened when she realized that she had been taken captive and she abruptly felt her stomach rise in her throat, a throat that was so parched she could barely speak. "Stop" she said hoarsely and one of the men grinned at her "nice to see you are with the living, miss, it appears that you underestimated your dear husband" he said then began to laugh. The sickening feeling left her immediately and was replaced with a burning rage and the feeling of immense power. When she was alive the last time, Isis had granted her with two powers with which to protect herself, one of invisible force in which she could do harm to a being or object merely by making the actions with her hands and the other was power over the waters of the Nile and all growing things that were watered by the river.

Both powers had been restored when she had returned to her body and she felt the need to use the former of them now "Isis forgive me" she said out loud then stared at the man coldly and made a jerking motion with her hands at the level of his neck. His head immediately snapped to the side and broke his spine and he fell from his camel onto the sand, dead. At that point the convoy stopped and she turned to the side closest to her one-time husband and threw up twice, then wiped her mouth and looked at his shocked face "oh, I am so sorry" she said with a bitter smile "he was bothering me so I felt the need to rid the world of him and do Egypt a favour. My stomach also is not feeling its best at the moment, something about morning sickness".

The men all stared at her as she locked her icy emerald eyes on them then calmly unwound the now broken rope from her hands and stretched them out, cracking the bones eloquently. Once that was done and she had the attention of everyone she pursed her lips and looked at each of them with a serious and somewhat cruel smile "Now then, since my dear mother Isis is not feeling particularly merciful at the moment because her pregnant daughter is being treated worse than a certain pharaoh's whore, she has granted me the ability to kill these camels and snap every one of your necks if I see fit" she stated bluntly then glared at Imhotep and saw that she had struck a nerve and that he was shocked. "You did not tell me you were pregnant" he said in a low forbidding voice and she tilted her head to the side and thought for a moment then nodded.

"That is true but what does it matter? Obviously your wife and daughters mean less to you than that whore so why would this child mean anything if the others were so easily forgotten? That is why you did not come to join us, is it not?" she pointed out, tossing her head back to get the hood off and exposing her painfully familiar face. The men were surprised but dared not speak for fear of losing their lives so they watched their master "I had assumed that once I kissed you, you would be mine again. I did not expect you to struggle so much or remember anything from before" he said now evidently confused and she smiled again "you really believed that old legend. Well believe this, Isis started that legend as a safeguard so that you would make that very assumption and not kill me. Another safeguard is that if I die, the heart of Isis will disintegrate and slowly suck the life and power out of you, leaving you cursed but unable to be resurrected" she revealed matter-of-factly and his face went unearthly pale as did the faces of every one of his men.

They had not expected her to have the upper hand in the situation, being a woman, even though she was Imhotep's wife. It was plain to see that the gods had sent her as a test for their master and that there was something she hadn't said and plainly had no intention of telling them until she wanted to. Imhotep himself felt both betrayed and relieved, Selkenauset had always been the strong one and the one with the most guidance from the Gods. She was also not cruel in how she told him about this and warned him when she could have just let him be a fool and murder her and their unborn child then be forever cursed. He knew there had to be a reason she was pregnant now and he wanted to know why. Even though he had treated her horribly she had stayed her hand and only killed one of his men instead of just wiping them all out without a thought as was her privilege. He sighed and fought back the dark murderous thoughts of Set that had plagued him ever since he had drank wine with Ankh-Su-Namun one night long ago. Looking at the face of his beloved he saw that, behind the bitterness in her eyes and voice, she still suffered because of him.

He wondered how she had had the strength to wait that long for him when his memories of her had nearly been erased by Osiris' vengeful brother, how she had survived knowing that he would never come, that she would only ever see his face again in her memories. "Her austerity never ceases to amaze me" he thought then reached over and simply snapped the ropes around her feet then sat up again "you think that I do not know you Imhotep, you think that I do not know what you have done. That you were possessed by Set and killed my father for a woman who was little more than an afterthought in the palace" she said seriously and smiled at the shock that passed over his features, her eyes glittering "I know because I was there, I was watching you every minute of that time, through the eyes of my younger sister and those of the maid, Nofret, you were not as alone as you thought" she then gently kicked the camel with the heel of her right foot, prodding it to move forward and addressed the men tersely, telling them to get moving and quickly.

They made two more stops on the journey that would end, as it happened, at Philae. The first stop was at the temple at Abu Simbel and the second was at the ruins of a temple dedicated to Ma'at that lay hidden in the palms along the Nile banks. After her threats were in place, Selkenauset occupied herself with prayer and self-preservation while Imhotep watched her like a hawk as she knew he would once he found out she was pregnant again. Her belly grew considerably in that week, in the world of Isis her pregnancy would progress with the growth in each week being that which normally took place in three months. Her stomach was still small and barely swelled beneath her linens but she knew it would grow more. Finally they reached the river again and camped out on the banks where Philae was clearly visible, that evening she was seated on cushions with her husband, who placed one hand very gently on her growing stomach and looked at her tenderly.

Her earlier pregnancies had prepared her for this one so she hadn't been nearly as sick, which was a source of relief for him, but her changing body fascinated him now just as it had before. During the past week he had felt the evil falling away from him, it seemed that the more time he spent in her presence, the better he felt and not just because she was his wife. It seemed as though Isis were ready to forgive him by trusting him with her daughter though she had made it clear that one wrong step would mean his doom. Tomorrow would be a trial in more ways than one, Imhotep knew that the heart was in Philae but no longer was as obsessed with it as he had been. However he had to be careful not to betray that feeling by letting his men know because it might endanger his wife's life and that of their unborn child.

Tonight she would finally tell him what would be occurring the next day and what he had to do as well as the possible end results. Under her order, a steward had already been sent to request the assistance of the few priestesses that remained at the Isis temple and told them to prepare clean linens, water, and lotus flowers. A boat had also been provided for Imhotep and Selkenauset so they could travel to the temple in the early morning before the sun got too hot. With her bare back pleasantly rested against his bare chest, he massaged her breasts gently; aware that the motions would relieve some of the sensitivity she had been feeling in the soft forms that had swelled a little over the past days. Her contented sigh pleased him immensely and he felt her muscles relax; times like this were when it was hard for them to believe that three thousand years had passed. Their behaviour around each other in private had not changed for the most part and that made both of them very, very, happy.

Their love had been through hell but had come back just as strong as it had been on the day they said their vows in front of Isis and Osiris and were blessed in both temples. Now they would both need to be blessed in this one in order for them to succeed.

Meanwhile…

Ardeth's head pulsed with an unearthly pain that, allied with a single tear sliding down his cheek, signalled that the Med-Jai warrior was close to some sort of breakdown. Jonathan, nursing a sprained knee, didn't doubt that if Ardeth had been able to move that he probably would have beheaded Rick and maybe that wouldn't have been such a bad thing, the violence would have taken all of their minds off of Farsiris and what was happening to her. Evy hadn't spoken for hours since they let Farsiris go at the temple of Hathor and the beautiful woman had gone into the depths of the ruins accompanied by Imhotep's henchmen who had stayed a respectable distance away from her. Then the visions had come, three of them to be exact but since Evy had cheered considerably after them, no one dared to ask what they were about. All she had said was that she was sure that Farsiris was pregnant and that Imhotep's group was very close to Philae. This didn't ease the worry of the vigilant Med-Jai who had been her guardian until all of this madness had ensued, Ardeth lay on his cushions and wondered how he would explain this to his men.

They had failed yet again to protect a deadly secret of the past from being discovered, not to mention the guardian of this secret who had been the Pharaoh's oldest daughter. Seti would no doubt have had them all killed had this happened 3000 years ago, though Selkenauset was married to Imhotep at that time. The detail that Imhotep had been married had been left out of the books to protect the living spirit of the Princess from further pain. She did not need it rubbed in her face that her husband had seemingly forgotten her and their two daughters. It was ironic that after Imhotep had killed the pharaoh, his own oldest daughter Nefertari had been married to Seti's son and had become one of the most revered Queens in Egyptian history. But even that irony and the comforting touch of his fiancée's hand on Ardeth's shoulder could not ward off the sense that something was going to happen soon and that it wouldn't necessarily be good. After all, it was Imhotep they were dealing with.

"Evelyn, how can you be sure that Farsiris will live after she reveals the heart of Isis? Was that in the visions as well?" he asked hoarsely and Evie lifted her head, smiling slightly "I believe so" she said and a dreamy look came over her pretty features "You see, when I was young, Selkenauset told me about the heart of Isis, myths mostly but with elements of truth in them. I remember one specific part where she said that the guardian of the heart, if killed, will return to Isis and the heart will suck the life out of her killer. Now, if you reason it out, the whole reason that Imhotep is here is because he wants to…" "rule the world" Jonathan chimed in and Evie looked at him approvingly with a broad smile "exactly and how do you suppose he would do that if he kills Farsiris and his life is sucked out of him?" she pointed out rather triumphantly. Ardeth relaxed a bit "of course" he thought "the goddess would find a way to safeguard things, especially her heart", at last he finally felt a little better, though he knew that the final fate of the older princess would still be a mystery for a while. Or at least until she made contact with them.

Dinner was brought and slowly consumed with very little conversation beyond compliments to the women who cooked the food and Evy spoke briefly about some of the museum's ongoing projects, Alex talked a little about his school, and Rick just watched them all and concentrated on eating, not being one for a lot of conversation. After the dinner, the family went outside while Ardeth's mother and fiancée changed his bandages and they walked out to the limits of the camp then stood, looking over the desert and up at the stars. "No streetlights to blot out the stars" Evie thought "just one of many desert wonders" and suddenly she smiled as one star shot across the sky. A comet. She remembered that a comet had shot across the sky on the night, Rameses had been born; a good omen for the new crown prince.

She wasn't sure exactly where all of these memories were coming from, it seemed that the longer Farsiris was gone, the more memories Evie experienced of her past life. She had a sneaking suspicion that her reincarnated sister was preparing her for something but she hadn't yet seen or felt what it could be. A few hours later, they all settled in for the night, Evie sleeping next to her husband with Alex close by while Jonathan's snores from across the tent floor signalled that he never had a problem with insomnia. Just as she closed her eyes she felt a cool fog descend over her and she opened them again to see a woman standing at the foot of her make-shift bed.

The woman's face was obscured but her billowing linen robes and bejewelled hands told Evie all she needed to know "now everything shall be explained, dear sister, You will see what will happen to me tomorrow, what risks I shall have to take. Watch and learn because I will need your prayers to survive" the woman whispered and the fog intensified and Evie fell into a deep sleep, allowing the dreams to begin.

_The temple of Philae gleamed in the sun as she floated over it and, in an instant, was inside, watching a peculiar ritual. Her sister, Selkenauset, lay on the altar, dressed in fine linen and her beloved silver jewellery, her stomach bearing the characteristic swell of early pregnancy. However she could see that this was not a sacrifice, Imhotep stood beside his wife opposite the priestess, wearing a kilt of white linen and clean shaven. When he knelt and closed his own eyes, she got closer and she saw that Selkenauset's eyes were closed as the high priestess anointed her body with Jasmine oil and lotus flowers were placed in the prostrate woman's hands that lay still upon her swollen stomach as if to protect what was within._

_It was then that she realized that the priestesses of the temple had all assumed the position that Imhotep was in: the position of prayer. One began to shake the sistrum and another to sing in soft lilting tones as a white clothed woman beside her lit the incense in a bowl at the feet of a large statue of Isis: their mother. The glow suddenly faded from the skin of the woman on the altar and her face took on an unearthly pallor. Was she dead? Evie saw that another woman, dressed in the robes of a high priestess, reading from a large silver book bearing the eye of Horus and the silhouette of Isis nursing her infant on the cover. None of them changed their positions so she took that to mean that this was a normal part of the ritual._

_The people knelt in prayer raised their heads to the ceiling including, to her shock, Imhotep then they raised their voices until they were almost shouting to the heavens and the song of the women became clear enough to hear._

_Oh Isis, Mother Divine_

_Bless the child of the womb within _

_Your beloved daughter_

_Take her pain and make it thine_

_May your tears bless the water_

_Let her suffer no more fear_

_Let her have all that she holds dear _

_And be blessed hereafter _

_Be she a mother and a seer _

_To share wisdom and laughter_

_Evie felt tears running down her cheeks when the words finally registered. Her sister was pregnant again and taking on a journey to the underworld to free Imhotep. She smiled then saw the goddess herself appear "Nefertiri, you must return to your world, it is not yet your time to visit us again. Your son needs you" she said softly and the fog began to close in again, obscuring the vision of her strong, brave, and ever beautiful sister. _

Evie awoke with a start, smiling to the confusion of her family and the injured friend who had helped saved their butts more than once. After they ate a small meal in the morning, she made eye contact with Ardeth and gave a small yet strangely reassuring smile "she is pregnant and at Philae. Isis will take care of her so she is in good hands" she said quietly then went out to wash herself off in the Nile. When she came back, clean, dressed in a dress loaned to her by Ardeth's sister and still smiling, she sat down and pulled a book out of her travel bag. Rick shook his head "Evie, honey, how can you be sure that we shouldn't be hauling our behinds over to Philae to rescue your cousin/sister? For all we know, she could end up buried there and the plagues could make an unwelcome appearance again" he said.

Jonathan shuddered at the mere thought of it and Ardeth paled a little under his tan but Evelyn remained impossibly calm and her eyes sparkled as she took them all in "Selkenauset was a brilliant fighter and backed by every goddess in the tribune. Besides, Imhotep cannot kill her or he will die himself and from what I saw in my dream. They went into the temple alone, his men were conspicuously absent and it looked like some sort of a rebirth ritual was being preformed" she said in a very soft voice to no one outside the tent would hear them "she is going to visit the gods and as long as Isis is with her, she is protected" she said fiercely and her conviction startled them, but had the effect of calming Ardeth and the colour came back into his face.

Evie looked out at the dust blowing around in the wind and smiled, Selkenauset knew what to do and if she was unsure, Farsiris was still there to guide her in semi-modern ways. As long as the ritual wasn't disturbed, Selkenauset would live and Farsiris would be just fine. Just then a chill went up her back as a black and grey cat came wandering in the door and stared up at her with gold flecked eyes, seemingly glittering, and she swore that the animal smiled. Bast was ever vigilant, if Imhotep made one wrong move and Isis didn't get him, Bast would and unlike her gentler, motherly, sister goddess, she would not be inclined to play nice should something happen to Selkenauset. Evie understood what this protection meant: the child in Selkenauset's womb was a chosen of Bast and the Cat goddess had a tendency to be overprotective.

Indeed, the prostrate princess/priestess on the alter would be very well protected.


	10. Chapter 9: The Perilous Journey

Chapter 9: The Perilous Journey

The sun had yet to bath the stone pillars of the temple in tones of gold and pink when Selkenauset awoke and carefully extracted herself from the embrace of the still sleeping Imhotep. She didn't want to wake him or any of his men in her search for the Book of Amun Ra but something told her that his men didn't know about the book in general, much less that it could suck the immortality out of their leader. That said, Imhotep was always careful about such things and she knew that he would have kept the book close to him, meaning that it would be in the tent somewhere. "Good gods" she thought as her back cracked "I'm getting old" then when she was standing she considered her surroundings for a moment and almost laughed at herself.

"Save the hysterics for later" she thought soberly "right now you have to find that damn book before your beloved husband wakes up and decides to tie you to the boat and send it downriver" she crossed the tent and began looking through the bags, doing her best to be utterly silent, knowing that his hearing rivalled that of a nervous cat. After concluding that the book wasn't in any of those bags she stood up again and looked at him, wondering how many places there could possibly be in a tent for someone to hide a book made of gold. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the glint of metal but it wasn't gold, she had placed the silver Isis statue at the foot of the make-shift bed so that it would watch over her as she slept and remind her husband that one wrong move would put him in the clutches of Anubis once again. She didn't mean to be so cruel about it but she knew that with the influence of the evil Set still hanging over him, she couldn't afford to take any chances.

However, the statue was no longer staring at the bed but at the far corner of the tent and Selkenauset shivered imperceptibly at the sign. There were only two reasons that the goddess would have abandoned her watch, the first being that Philae was very close and the second being that she was trying to tell her daughter something. Perhaps that the book of Amun Ra was hidden in that corner. However the only thing in the corner was a canvas sack that was very close to Imhotep's elbow, too close for her not to be nervous about waking him while she dug it out. She was contemplating the methods that she could use to get the sack when Imhotep stirred and brought his arm up across his chest as if attempting to defend himself against some unseen enemy.

This enabled her to move close enough to grasp one corner of the canvas and drag it very slowly towards her. It was very heavy which was a good omen and she smiled, satisfied, when she removed the bag and the gold cover of the book shimmered in the low light. Thanking Isis for her good fortune, Selkenauset moved away from the makeshift bed and murmured a spell that quickly unlocked the book and she seated herself on one of many cushions on the floor. The low light played on her features, the round curves of her breasts, the slim contours of her long legs, and the perfectly balanced slopes of her high cheekbones, but was shamed by the light dancing in her emerald eyes when she found the right page.

If Evelyn had been correct, Osiris had arrived in a chariot with quite a bit of fanfare and ripped Imhotep's immortal soul from his body the last time the spell had been used. This sequence of events was troubling to her because the success of this mission required him to be both mortal and unaware of his mortality. This meant that her immortal father Osiris would have to be extremely quiet and persuasive in removing Imhotep's immortality this time around. She had no doubt that if her husband awoke to find she had betrayed him, he would do something awful to her, not necessarily to kill her but something that would most likely cause her pain. So, to solve the problem, she began to pray to her father, the husband of her mother Isis, and the ruler of the dead "Osiris, my father, use the same silence now as that which you have used to intervene previously in my affairs, and restore my husband's mortal soul, for the sake of my child and I" she whispered. She then read the spell from the book in a low, almost musical, voice and once done, waited.

A glow began to form on the side of the tent, subtle at first, but then intensifying and suddenly she saw a grey cloud beginning to leak from Imhotep's nostrils, slowly taking the shape of a man. Her heart pounded in her chest and she felt her child stir in response to her unease, she knew she was seeing the very evil that Anck-Su-Namun had put in her husband and she placed her hands protectively over her stomach. The shadowy man was plainly angry and she saw the malice in his red eyes but as he opened his mouth to scream he was quickly sucked into the glowing portal which then disappeared in a flash. Thanking her parents profusely, she closed the book carefully, her hands still shaking, convinced that even if she lived for eternity as was promised, that evil staring face would be etched in her memory.

Evelyn bolted upright, sending the blanket flying onto her unsuspecting husband who yelled in surprise. Ardeth nearly fell out of his bed, having been ripped out of a nightmare of his own, and Jonathan made the most of the situation by looking scared shitless in a way that only he could. Initial reactions aside, all had the same puzzled expression on their faces when they saw that Evelyn was smiling, and all wondered if the events of the past couple of weeks or so had resulted in dear sweet Evelyn O'Connell finally losing her mind. After all, there were only so many homicidal mummies, kidnappings, camel rides, lost family members, ancient visions, and impromptu Nile swims that one could handle before something had to give.

"He's mortal!" she announced excitedly "she did it!", Ardeth breathed a sigh of relief and relinquished his hold on the scimitar at his bedside. It was rather amusing to Evelyn as she looked them all over that though Rick, for the most part, refused to acknowledge his ancient Med-Jai past; his reaction to her outburst had been the same as Ardeth's. Although Rick's choice of weapon had been his trusty rifle, not a sword. "Bloody good show" Jonathan muttered before reassuming the classic sleeping position of a crumpled heap, accompanied by near-deafening snoring. Ardeth cringed and glared at Rick "how is it that you let him live this long?" he inquired, half smiling and Rick rolled his eyes "it's a family thing" he said and looked at Evie, who was gently arranging their son's hair. Alex had come out of his ordeal mostly unscathed and Rick hoped that Farsiris lived if only so that he could thank her for doing her duty.

Ardeth shook his head and laid back down, wincing at the pain in his side, and thought about Farsiris. She had made the creature – Imhotep mortal again without being killed. At this point he had to wonder why all of the safeguards had been bestowed upon the priestess, yes, she was the guardian of the heart of Isis and, yes, she was the high priestess and the Goddess's daughter, but Selkenauset had died in childbirth and Farsiris could die without anyone ever knowing where the ancient artifact resided. The answer lay in his own past, one that he would not relinquish to anyone. Before Imhotep had gained the princess's affections, and even afterwards, there was another who had loved her. The bodyguard who had been trusted to protect her, even if it meant sacrificing his own life, had had feelings for her.

However, they had remained hidden beneath protocol and a deep seated fear of betraying trust. The pharaoh would have had him removed from the palace had he known and that was not acceptable to the Med-Jai whose traditional place was at her side, ensuring her safety. Now, several of those feelings had surfaced again and Ardeth, a man not accustomed to dealing with feelings beyond the sense of duty that was kept closer to him than his family, didn't know what to do. That was the main reason he rarely allowed himself to be in the company of Farsiris, the beautiful and intelligent woman was dangerous in more ways than most could guess.

The aforementioned priestess was bathing in the temple of Philae as her sisters prepared the altar and her husband for the ceremony that was to come. The boat ride had gone uneventfully and Imhotep had warned his men not to disturb them while they were in the temple. Selkenauset had been walking on eggshells ever since that morning, he still had not yet figured out that he was mortal and she needed it to stay that way, she couldn't stand to tell him that he would have to leave her again even though it would only be for two and a half weeks. She knew better than anyone how a short amount of time could turn into an eternity when one was waiting for one's beloved.

As she climbed out of the water; one of the younger women approached her timidly, her eyes wide, and asked softly if she could touch her stomach. Selkenauset smiled benevolently then took the young girl's hand and placed it on her swollen stomach where she had felt the baby move earlier that morning. The girl smiled broadly "he already kicks" she said and the older priestess smiled "yes he does, he's going to be a strong one" she agreed. The young woman's gaze turned pensive and as she pulled away she gave Selkenauset a shy smile "just like you" she said and then left towards the altar.

An hour later the time came. Selkenauset approached the altar, dressed in clean linens and her beloved silver jewellery, and observed them all with a small smile "you all know what the goddess expects of you, but I thank you for taking care of me and agreeing to do this. My gratitude, and that of my husband and child, is endless. Goddess bless you all" she said then turned to Imhotep, who was dressed as a priest in a clean white kilt, sans jewellery. His eyes met hers and she saw the worry, the despair, "my beloved, I will see you again soon. I love you dearly and my absence will be short. However for me it is a small price to pay for an eternity with you" she said then embraced him and kissed him once more before turning and making her way to the middle of the circle of women and laying out the puzzle pieces: her signet ring, a sacred papyrus from the Philae temple, a figurine of Isis and Osiris, a single jasmine bloom, and oddly enough, a bracelet that the princess had been given by her Med-Jai bodyguard with an Eye of Horus engraved in each of the small oval shaped links.

"I call upon Isis to protect my child on this perilous journey and I call on my brother Horus to guide me to the underworld. Heart of Isis that lies within me, let your light shine into the kindred souls who have blessed you with their love and devotion. Let your kindness bring peace to Egypt and end the suffering of countless generations. Mother Goddess, daughter of Ra, let your light shine" she recited and suddenly the floor tile that she was standing on began to glow. All eyes went to the place where Selkenauset's body had been buried three millennia and the realization dawned on them. The Heart of Isis was not an artifact in the sense, it was a woman. The woman whose duty had been to protect the heart, _**was**_the heart.

A brilliant flash of light filled the temple and when it subsided, the hieroglyphics on the walls glowed and pulsed with the rhythm of a human heart. Selkenauset laid down on the altar and placed her hands over her chest and the priestess under her in the temple began to pray. When another priestess put flowers in her hands then began to shake the sistrum, they all kneeled and turned their eyes to the heavens then began to sing. Imhotep struggled at first to remember the words of the sacred prayers but his head was suddenly filled with his wife's voice and they came back in a rush. He began to sing with the women, kneeling at her side and suddenly the gold glow of the hieroglyphs shot into her body and the colour of her skin faded. The test had begun.

Back at the Med-Jai camp, Evie had prepared everything, her linens, some food, some water. Alex had a pile of cushions to rest on and everyone else had been directed not to disturb her until she emerged. The only interruptions were to bring in bath water for her and food. Until her older sister Selkenauset had completed her journey, Neferitiri would stay here and pray "I will not let her down" she thought as she kneeled and when she heard the haunting song begin in her mind, she began to sing as well.

The soft lilting tones of Evie's voice could be heard throughout the Med-Jai camp and Ardeth found himself saying some prayers of his own to the ancient gods, that most had ceased believing in a thousand years ago. He was surprised that he even remembered the prayers being as since he hadn't heard them since his mother had died ten years earlier. She had believed in Isis, though she had kept it hidden from the rest of the women and men who were of Muslim faith, and he had heard her saying her prayers before, mostly on his behalf as her child. He was glad he had listened then and now he prayed. For Farsiris, for his princess Selkenauset, and for the child within her.


	11. Chapter 10: The Will of The Goddess

Chapter 10: The Will of the Goddess

The winds of the judgment hall were a shock to her but she was not here to be judged so Thoth and Ma'at merely nodded at her as she passed the scales that were in the process of weighing a mortal's heart. Business as usual for the goddess of justice. The large cats that guarded the doors to the underworld rubbed against her legs and the doors swung open just as she heard the metal clank of one of the scales hitting the ground. This was followed by a loud wailing cry and a roar that was silenced as the doors shut behind her and she was bathed in soft light and a warm breeze caressed her spirit. The warmth could not dispel the shiver that went up her spine at hearing a man's damned soul being torn apart and consumed by Sebek. She, like all, had heard of what happened to those who were not fortunate enough to have the scales balance in their favour but she had never actually seen it done. Her heart had weighed heavily on the side of the good and she had been brought into the underworld by Osiris himself.

Suddenly she passed another doorway and blinked several times, startled by the bright light, then heard a meow and looked down to see a white cat rubbing against her ankles. Her face lit up with a gentle smile and she reached down to pick the fluffy animal up, cuddling it to her chest and feeling very reassured when it began to purr softly in her arms. "I see you have met Mehret" a female voice said and Selkenauset looked up from the cat to see Bast smiling at her, she nodded "yes, she is beautiful" she responded and the goddess's face fairly glowed with pride. "Your child will be as well. It is good to see you again, Princess, though I am well aware of the reason for this visit" she purred then took Mehret from her and motioned her further into the room "come. You must hurry" she urged "Osiris is growing impatient to see you".

She followed Bast into another room, this time decorated as a throne chamber, the walls covered in paintings of the gods instead of pharaohs and on the golden throne sat Osiris himself, Isis seated beside him, looking very pregnant. "You are looking more like your mother every time she sees you" the goddess said with a smile and placed one protective hand upon her own midsection and, despite herself, Selkenauset smiled. "Like mother, like daughter" she responded humbly and bowed carefully, hindered by her condition but Osiris shook his head "dispense with the formality, daughter, as it is not good for the child for you to be bent like that" he said tersely but when she looked back at him gratefully, he was gazing at her fondly. "Now, my daughter, we are aware of what you have accomplished to get here and how that was done, we need only to know the purpose".

It was time. She stood in front of the assembly of the gods, trembling slightly, but bolstered by the presence of Isis, who was smiling upon her beautiful daughter, and Bast, whose gold flecked eyes cast a solemn gaze upon the princess's swollen stomach. Selkenauset already knew that her unborn child was a chosen of the feline goddess; her first had been a chosen of Hathor, the second daughter a chosen of Isis, now this child was Bast's and she was not sure what to expect. She had always wanted a little boy with his father's eyes as both of her daughters had looked like her but that was not her concern now. In order to ensure that the father would be there at the birth she needed to make a plea for his life. Taking a deep breath, Selkenauset looked at them all and her feline eyes narrowed when they settled on Set who gave her a sadistic smile and waved impudently. She sent a look at him that had withered most of those who had gotten it before then looked back at Osiris with tears in her eyes "I have come to plead for the release of my husband".

Jonathan looked back at the tent where his sister had been hidden for the past day and a half, praying for Selkenauset's soul, and he sighed. Only Alex was allowed to see her now as he was her child and under Isis' laws, children were never to be kept away from their mothers until they reached the age of "adulthood" which had been fourteen in ancient Egypt. Nevertheless, Evie rarely spoke to him as she needed to be in prayer almost constantly and only stopped in order to bathe, change her linens and sleep. Upon Evie's request, Rick and several of the Med-Jai were on their way to Philae to make sure that nothing disturbed the ritual so Jonathan and Alex spent most of their time with the still-injured and suitably uneasy Ardeth.

The Med-Jai leader had been deep in thought lately and even started muttering prayers himself though more for Farsiris than Selkenauset who was in the good hands of her mother Isis. His fiancée had fallen ill with high fever a week before and was not looking as if she were going to be getting better anytime soon. It had been a purely nasty two weeks for everyone including Imhotep no doubt. "He was bloody cursed, eaten alive by bugs, and now is in danger of losing his wife for the second time" Jonathan thought as he got up, not even bothering to brush the ever present sand off his pants "you can't get much worse than that". He walked into Ardeth's tent to see Alex sitting on the floor reading a book and the wounded warrior watched him "hello Jonathan, has Evelyn emerged yet?" he asked and sighed when the Englishman shook his head "she said it would take at least three days and that there would be a sign from the gods to inform us of the fate of Farsiris" he said, repeating what his sister had told him to say if anyone asked about her.

Ardeth nodded and closed his eyes for a few moments then opened them "that means we won't know for another day and a half if she lived through the ritual and there are three more days before she returns with Rick" he muttered then looked at the less imposing of his comrades and offered a somewhat crooked smile "how are you surviving without drink?". Jonathan shook his head "it's ghastly" was all he said before looking towards the door again the back at Alex who put his book down and asked Ardeth about his mother and the Med-Jai answered him with what Jonathan had told him then shifted uncomfortably and added "now all we can do is wait".

Back at the temple, Rick and the Med-Jai had set up a small camp in an inconspicuous patch of weeds and trees, where they could observe Imhotep's men while concealing their own presence. As inconspicuous as the thicket could be with a group of men in black robes armed from head to foot with various sizes of blades. For the most part, all was going well though the men were starting to get restless. He knew the code, if they got too restless he and the Med-Jai were to do anything necessary to distract them even if it meant starting a fight. "My entire life has been spent in the desert so far, except for a few relatively peaceful years in London with Evy" he thought then looked at the temple where a couple very much like him and Evy were undergoing an incredibly tedious trial. He couldn't imagine being separated from his wife for that long and he could relate with the priest whose beloved now lay prostrate and fully vulnerable on an altar.

"I would do the same if it were Evy who were laying on that altar and I were in danger of losing her again" he reasoned and therefore surprised himself by feeling a strange sort of sympathy for Imhotep. No one had thought that the cursed man could feel anything but anger and hatred but what he was doing now was proof of the contrary. Rick knew that the priest was now mortal, that had been a mandatory condition for the ritual to even take place, he also knew that the priestess was in a world that he couldn't even begin to visualize. This mission had touched him in many ways about many things that were close to him and that he had always wondered about; the strength of love, life after death, and the meaning of eternity. He also knew that he would need to have a talk with Alex, who wanted to undergo Med-Jai training for a year when he was finished school before going to university.

The purpose of the talk would be to express his approval of the venture. Ardeth would personally supervise him, it would teach the boy much discipline, and get him out of the world of books for a while. But first, Rick knew he needed to survive this and resolve the situation at hand, he looked back at the temple and sighed: it was going to be a long wait.

Inside the temple; the priestesses had gone to bathe, leaving Imhotep to watch over his beloved. They took turns bathing and cleaning themselves so that there would always be someone with the body, praying for the ka to return safely. The priestesses had all been touched by the devotion of the man they had once seen only as a curse and who now showed them what he really was; a priest. He only ceased praying in order to shave, eat, and bathe and also changed the linens on his wife and placed fresh blooms in her hands and hair. This time he had leaned over and kissed her forehead while placing a reverent and protective hand on her stomach, praying for hers and the child's safety. A journey to the underworld before death was the bravest thing a person could do as it could possibly mean that they would never return, never mind actually facing the gods themselves. With that final thought, he began to pray again, thinking only of the woman in front of him and the child within her.

During this tense time, it seemed that all had forgotten about little silver statue and it lay forgotten at the feet of the statue of Isis in the main sanctuary, wrapped in its owner's linens. The linens concealed the expression of the statue that went from horror to a sort of peace, they also concealed the fact that it was glowing and the silver of the stomach began to rise into a slight swell, resembling …well, pregnancy. With the fall of night, the statue opened its mouth and rose from the linens, drifting towards the altar, then settled upright on Selkenauset's chest and began to melt into her. The silver seemed to be absorbed by her skin and had a very strange effect on her body, colour flooded her skin and she began to glow beneath the linens.

Selkenauset watched as the gods conversed, she was holding Mehret again and the warm soft weight of the cat comforted her and seemed to comfort her child as well for its restless movements ceased. Suddenly Osiris glanced at her then stood, motioning to Bast to take Mehret from her and the sudden movement shook the princess out of her thoughts. She reluctantly placed the cat in its mother's arms and was somewhat relieved to see that her child's patron goddess was smiling, her glittering eyes free of annoyance and anger. "Daughter, your request has been heard and we have agreed that Imhotep's soul will be released into the underworld to be with your daughter. He has shown piety towards us and devotion to you as his prayers for your wellbeing have not ceased since you came to see us. Now, the condition for him staying there is that both your present body and that of your child live through the birth" he said and she nodded tearfully, placing one hand on her swollen stomach.

"But you already know that" Isis added then smiled "once born, the child will die within an hour, of trauma caused by the birth as you are still very small in body. However his soul will travel to the underworld with yours, leaving Farsiris free, and letting you and Imhotep raise your son together, as parents should". Selkenauset smiled through the tears that suddenly wet her cheeks "thank you, Mother and Father. Thank you all" she said softly, then Ma'at came through the doors and took her hand "you must go back to your body. There is a disturbance that needs to be attended to" she urged, the seriousness on her face striking panic into Selkenauset's heart. She nodded then thanked her parents again before Isis came to her and kissed her softly on the forehead "worry not my child, I will help you" she whispered and the princess squeezed her mother's hand "and I will, in turn, help you, mother. None of you will need to fear the deaths of mortals from the curse. It will be over soon" she said, mustering all of the confidence she could possibly summon from beneath the immense relief that had freed her heart. And another heart as well.


	12. Chapter 11: the Heart of Isis

**Chapter 11: the Heart of Isis **

As Ma'at led her back into the judgment hall, Selkenauset saw Amun waiting in his chariot "your parents have requested that I bring you back to the land of the living as I go around world, Princess" the glowing sun god said then managed a wry smile and added "ironic isn't it? We both bring light to the world in different ways". She nodded and thanked all of the gods and goddesses profusely once more before climbing into the chariot with the aid of Amun, hampered slightly by her swollen stomach that was bigger now than it had been when she initially arrived. A smile spread across her features; her mother worked in mysterious ways.

However all she had seen could not prepare her for what she saw as the horses moved forward and they rose above the Earth. It brought tears to her eyes to see what she was trying so desperately hard to save. She saw dolphins leaping above the water in the Atlantic, children playing in England, a woman being married in Germany, and a mother burying her child in Africa. Then she saw Egypt, the shifting sands of the desert, the beautiful Nile; the source of all life in the country and the few lands that it flowed through, and she was so absorbed in being awed by this beauty that she didn't realize that Nu had taken her out of the chariot and was bringing her back to her body. It was then that she saw the battle going on near Philae that Ma'at had spoke of, Imhotep's former henchmen had clearly tried to cross the river to the temple and were thwarted by both a priestess and, surprisingly, a group of Med-Jai.

She saw the body of the aforementioned priestess, a woman far too young to die, and said a heartfelt prayer for her ka. She also saw a familiar blonde head "Rick" she said and wondered why he was here. She had instructed him to go home to England to avoid arousing suspicion about her connections. Then it occurred to her that Evelyn, as the shelter for the soul of her sister Nefertari, was included in those who had to pray for her would have to stay in Egypt. Suddenly she was jerked out of her thoughts and saw her own body, and closed her eyes before sinking back into the form, feeling the warmth, the blood flowing through her veins and hearing the prayer from those who surrounded her. They had stayed focused despite the chaos outside and her heart warmed for all of those selfless women.

She stirred slightly but found herself exhausted by her journey, and so she opened her eyes long enough to smile at her husband and let him know she had returned before sinking back into a deep sleep. Imhotep grinned broadly "she is back" he said simply after finishing the prayer and stood then kissed his sleeping wife's forehead as the other priestesses sang and rejoiced at the return of the princess. The Heart of Isis had been saved.

The joy however was interrupted by a priestess who came running into the temple, an expression of grief upon her features, carrying a woman who had clearly been shot and had gone to the Gods. "There is a fight going on outside, Imhotep" she gasped, "those men you were travelling with tried to interrupt the ceremony and Tahirah alerted the Med-Jai who were undoubtedly sent by Nefertiri to keep watch from a thicket just to the north to make sure nothing went wrong". Imhotep looked at the dead woman and his heart fell, what he had done and those he had allied with in order to do it came back to haunt him and he knew that the men would not take his alliance with the good too well. They would have to be dispatched quickly and for once he was thankful for the Med-Jai. It was further proof that Set had been put back in his place by his siblings in response the pleas of the thoroughly devoted princess.

He nodded "I must go and fight. It is my mistake I must now fix it. If I am killed before she returns…tell her that I love her and I will see her when she returns to the underworld" he said and his voice choked. Placing one hand on his wife's stomach, he smiled when he felt the baby kick; but just the sight of his vulnerable and pregnant beloved was enough to remind him of what he was fighting for. He had been given a second chance to do what was right, something the gods rarely allowed, and he was not going to mess it up this time. Taking a sword that that a priestess offered him, he kneeled again and allowed her to bless him and pray that he succeeded.

He then went out of the temple, aware that all of the priestesses were watching him and he turned around just before going outside and looked at the deceased priestess "she is safe. Osiris is taking her to be with her family now" he said with a serious smile then walked out. The scene that met him was of complete disorder and he saw the man who had killed him before but now he understood him as well. "HALT!" he yelled at the men "put down your weapons" and everyone stopped and looked at him. The men who he had been allied with assumed triumphant expressions and the Med-Jai looked confused. He looked directly at the man named Rick, the reincarnation of one of his wife's former bodyguards and Nefertiri's beloved, "Selkenauset has returned safely, Set has been put back in his place, the curse has been removed, and I am no longer an enemy of the Med-Jai" he announced and noticed a scrape on his hand that was bleeding.

The significance of it would have shocked him if he hadn't been expecting it; the removal of the curse necessarily meant the end of his immortality. If he was stabbed, he would die in battle as any other man would; only this was no detriment to him anymore. His faith in Osiris had been restored and he was a redeemed man whose only reason for fighting was the safety of the priestesses in the temple and his beloved wife who was resting from her journey and therefore; still very much in danger. The men, as he had expected, did not take the news too well. They were driven by power and greed and he had no doubt that though Set was no longer an influence in his mind, the evil god still reigned over theirs. He would never have to worry about seeing them in the underworld and they would not live again as Sebek would feed on their souls.

The men did not put down their arms, instead they regrouped and came after both him and the Med-Jai. Rick noted as the Osirian priest readied for the fight. This was no normal man and he saw more of himself in Imhotep that he had expected. They were now allied against a common enemy and he shouted at the Med-Jai with him to join the priest to fight. The curse was gone and this battle would be the last of an era. They fought bravely and Rick was surprised, Evie had told him that all of the priests had been trained in the art of defence in case the temples were ever attacked. As well, under normal conditions, Imhotep would have been trained to defend the pharaoh against an attacker. He had still not expected the ancient man to fight so well.

However the other men had the strength that came with numbers and though none of the Med-Jai had been killed, several had been wounded and Imhotep was sporting a deep gash on his shoulder. They weren't making much headway and Rick knew that without reinforcements it wouldn't be long before there would be many casualties, possibly including him and Imhotep. This had all started very early that morning when several of the men had tried to go across the river to the temple to find their leader and a priestess picking lotus blossoms, no doubt for the princess, had hollered a warning just before they had shot killed her. Those men were now fish food, their peers had started shooting, and those who didn't have guns came at them with knives. It had all gone downhill from there.

Selkenauset awoke to the sound of voices singing in mourning and she knew it was for the dead priestess. Moving very slowly and gratefully accepting the aid of a priestess to get off the alter, she bowed her head and said another prayer for the woman before an older one informed her that Imhotep had gone outside to fight for the temple. She wiped a tear from her eye and simply nodded, the man she knew and loved so much had returned, the curse was gone and if he was killed she would see him and their daughters in the underworld. However, she knew that Rick was out there as well and she did not want to see either of them die. She still needed to tell her husband that she loved him, at least once more before he left his mortal body.

It was then that she knew she had to go outside and help them. The powers Isis had given her as gifts would ensure that she would not perish and that the second half of her mission would be completed as planned. She then knew the most fitting way to get rid of the men and she smiled as she went over to a pit covered by a sliding door, a trap designed to protect the temple from invaders. What she had in mind would be gross but very appropriate.

Imhotep gritted his teeth as another blade grazed him and he managed to kill the man with little effort. However the rest of the Med-Jai were not faring as well, two had died and the rest were tired and wounded, Rick was bleeding profusely from a gash on his chest and one young warrior was missing part of his hand. He had simply shifted his scimitar into the other hand but would no doubt die of blood loss if he wasn't killed before the battle had finished. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he saw a boat coming across the river further down and in his heart he knew it was her. "Oh gods no" he whispered as an image of his wife dying in his arms flashed through his head but then he saw the urn that she was carrying and his heart froze.

It looked the same as the urn he had seen before the med-Jai had poured creatures of agony onto him as he lay bandaged up and helpless in a sarcophagus. Only now it was his wife carrying it and he knew that whatever was inside would not be unleashed on him. "my dear gentlemen, you may want to move into the trees for a few moments" she suggested and a wry smile crossed her features, her feline eyes flashed in a way that he knew they only did when she was amused and he looked at the men "scarabs" he said "go!" and they didn't move for a moment then, even though he couldn't understand a word of Egyptian, the reason for the horror on the priest's face dawned on Rick "you heard them, move!" he yelled. And the Med-Jai back off.

Selkenauset heard the triumphant laughs of the men who had once been helping her husband but were now trying to kill him and she grinned "oh I wouldn't celebrate just yet. The other priestesses and I have a gift for you" she said then put the urn down, climbed up onto a boulder and motioned slightly with her hand. The urn tipped over and spilled exactly twenty flesh eating scarabs onto the sand. One for each enemy man. "Oh, Allah" one of the Med-Jai breathed and climbed a little further up the rock he was sitting on. Imhotep had gone into the river, knowing that scarabs couldn't swim and Rick, being quick about that sort of thing, had gone with him.

They both now stood, waist deep in water and watched the panicked men run around but to no avail, the sickening insects caught them and burrowed their way into their brains where they caused them to go crazy and run headfirst into things, making it easier for the Med-Jai to shoot them and thus end their lives. Once the bugs were all out of sight, colour went back into Imhotep's face and Rick swallowed hard "yuck" he commented and was slightly surprised when the high priest looked at him and nodded in agreement. Selkenauset climbed off of the boulder and looked at him then grinned at the shock on his face "he does understand most English and some Arabic but the Egyptian accent is such that it would very hard for you to understand him if he spoke to you in either" she explained before Imhotep's love for his wife won over the fear of scarabs and he crossed the beach swiftly to her.

Rick nodded and, though he wasn't that good with emotions, it was touching to see the two together, especially when Imhotep placed his hand on his wife's belly, which reminded everyone present that she was with child. He remembered doing that when Evie was pregnant with Alex and managed a smile "he fights very well" he said wiping his forehead and was rewarded with a brilliant smile from the beautiful woman "yes, and so do you. I told Nefertiri that she chose well, and I mean it. I would trust no other man with my sister" she said and much to everyone's surprise, and amusement, he actually blushed. Suddenly, Imhotep yelped in pain and jumped slightly and a scorpion scurried away to the safe shelter of a rock.

They took him to the temple, aware that the poisonous venom would work fast and Selkenauset's heart sank when she bent slightly to inspect the wound. The scorpion had pierced directly into the main vein of his ankle; there was no way to help him now. However, she suspected that the gods had planned this and knew that not all was lost; she would see him again after the birth. She wanted him to lay down but before that he had something he needed to do, he approached Rick and looked him straight in the face "I am sorry for the pain that the curse caused and the harm I have done to your family. Please give Nefertiri my apologies" he said in very heavily accented English. Rick held his hand out in a universal gesture of amendment "no hard feelings" he said and they shook hands. Selkenauset smiled benevolently, overjoyed at this gesture for now everyone was seeing the man she had married many years before and he was very different than the stories told by the Med-Jai.

Imhotep then laid down and smiled at the woman he loved more than anything and who returned that love with all she had, "you will not have to wait for me long" she promised and put his hand on her belly "after he comes, we will be together again and our family will be happy, our daughters will be glad to see you" she said then sat gently on the edge of the cot and looked into his dark eyes "I hope that you know how much I love you, Imhotep. I hope you have seen it in my eyes and felt it in my touch every day and if not, I am sorry" she said softly, her throat was giving out on her. Though she knew she would see him in the underworld, it was still hard to see him leave his mortal body before she left hers and half wished that they could go together.

He managed to smile though he could feel his heart beginning to beat more slowly as the poison spread, and he nodded then took her face in his hands and kissed her "and I hope that you know that I love you as well and that I am sorry for those years of pain I caused you by not coming. I hope I can make them up to you when you join us" he responded and she kissed him again, harder than usual, but reminiscent of the kisses they had exchanged years before. A few moments later, he passed away quietly in her arms, his head tucked against her stomach where the last thing he felt was his baby move against his cheek and the last sound he heard was the steady beat of his beloved's heart.


	13. Chapter 12: The Final Test

Author's note: I am sincerely sorry for how long it has been since I last updated but school took up a lot of my time. Since I graduated from university a couple of weeks ago, I fully hope and expect to have more time to write (thank Isis for small mercies!) and will finally have the time to finish this story. I wish to thank all of my faithful readers from the bottom of my heart, and especially those who took the time to review, you're the greatest. So without further ado, here is the next chapter.

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Selkenauset sighed as she shifted uncomfortably in the bed that the Med-Jai women had prepared for her. "Three weeks" she thought despondently. Three weeks of waiting, of feeling her stomach growing larger by the day, of missing her husband dreadfully, of nightmares about the loss of her child so many centuries before. Three weeks of lying in a bed that consisted of cushions and a blanket while people fussed over her. She wasn't used to this treatment and nor was Farsiris, who had been an independent and active young woman if the formerly fit condition of her body was any indication. "Gods, I need to get up before I go insane" she muttered but quickly discovered that it was easier said than done, for her large stomach hampered her every movement. Cursing her weakened bladder, she managed to get to her feet, swaying dangerously before placing a hand on the side of the tent to steady herself.

Going to the bathroom in the desert was dreadful under normal circumstances, with burning sand blowing into places sand should never be but now it was a genuine nightmare. Thankfully the morning sickness had abated after the second week so she now did not have to go through that fun-filled ritual immediately after she woke every morning. Making her way over to the pot that had been given to her for her to do her business in; she stared down at it and almost burst out laughing. "Right" she muttered derisively, making an exasperated face "I will not be able to get myself down that far, much less be able to get up afterwards" and simply stood there for a few moments. She was just about to call for help when a familiar pinch in her abdomen was followed by the feeling of fluid running down her legs, and it wasn't coming from her bladder. Her eyes widened and her lips parted, a soft whisper leaving her throat "oh no" then she mustered up the courage to look down.

She stared at the puddle on the mat with increasing apprehension, frozen in place, her water had broken and now the real battle would begin. "Evelyn! The child is coming!" she yelled and outside, everyone in the camp stopped dead except for Evelyn, who looked at Rick and Ardeth and said "it is time" then went running into the tent after grabbing a blanket that Ardeth's sister had brought out and calling for the two priestesses from the temple to assist her. Soon, the princess was sitting in a comfortably upraised position with a blanket over her hips that went down to her knees, one of the priestesses began to shake the sistrum and sing in a soft soothing voice while the other, an older woman with two children of her own, positioned herself between the labouring woman's legs.

Evelyn took her cousin/sister's hand and whispered encouraging words while gently wiping her forehead with a wet cloth. The high priestess looked at the scene before her and knew that if she weren't so panicked she would be falling asleep; for the music, the wet cloth, and the encouraging words were meant to relax the mother. None managed to help the pain that shot through her, however, when the first contraction came. She gritted her teeth and pushed as hard as she could, her body straining, "please mother, let the child live" she prayed and the labour proceeded.

In the judgement hall of the dead, Imhotep could hear his wife as she struggled to give birth and looked at Thoth who nodded "she is doing well" the god said and, as if in response, a cat came out of the doors to the underworld and rubbed up against the high priest's ankles. It was then that Imhotep knelt and began to pray again, for his child, but more for his wife whose cries of pain he could hear even though he knew that, in the mortal world, she was barely making a sound. He could also hear a woman singing, the music of the sistrum, and Nefertiri's voice, urging her sister to be strong, for the child's sake. Unbeknownst to him, the assembly of the Gods could see him and hear his prayers and they were very, very, pleased.

For three hours, Selkenauset struggled, her slender but strong body doing its best to not give in to the pain of being ripped open by the equally strong body of her child. Her temperature rose alarmingly despite the calming environment and Evelyn began to get nervous "oh gods, please let them live. They have all suffered enough" she whispered and squeezed her cousin's hand "especially my sister" her soul added. She soaked the cloth again and placed it on the mother-to-be's forehead and whispered in a voice straight out of the past "come on sis, you can do it". Selkenauset was pushing a little too hard and she knew it but she wanted the child to be born soon however the consciousness of Farsiris provided a more level head "stop pushing for a few moments or you will bleed to death" the priestess said inside her mind and she obliged.

Everyone present in the room looked at her in alarm when she stopped and she managed a tired smile "I need to rest momentarily or my body will bleed too much when the child comes" she said quietly. Evie nodded and sat back in relief as the heat left Selkenauset's forehead and she began to breathe evenly then with help from Isis, settled into a sustainable rhythm. She began to push then pushed for three shakes of the sistrum, relaxed for three, pushed for three, relaxed for three and slowly but surely the child began to move out of her. Another hour later the woman between her legs smiled "I can see its head" she said calmly as not to panic the labouring priestess.

Evelyn grinned broadly, and looked at her former sister "I remember when I was giving birth to Alex" she said pensively "It hurt an awful lot and took a long time but when I saw his little face it was worth it". Selkenauset responded with a smile "and it will be for me also, for more reasons than one" she murmured then another contraction came and she gritted her teeth "alright, alright, my little one. Time to come and meet your mother" she said, still somehow managing to laugh a little though the pain was excruciating. As she pushed she felt her body giving way and ripping and she nearly fainted but, using sheer willpower and the motivation of having her family back together in the underworld, she stayed conscious.

In his tent, Ardeth shifted restlessly; awaiting news of the birth and dreading news of the princess's death. In many ways he wanted the curse to be done with, to know that marauding desert raiders, treasure hunters, scarabs, and poisonous snakes were the only dangers to his people. There were a few less dangerous, mostly funeral related, curses that struck down those who were unfortunate enough to unearth them, but it was normally a singular event and not a prospective world takeover. Therefore they were of little worry to the Med-Jai. He was also nervous at the possibility that he would have hide his emotions when he had to face Farsiris again.

He had become used to the fact the Selkenauset was now using her body but when she left to join her family in the underworld, the former inhabitant of that same body would be back in control. It would be much harder to deal with it while flat on his back in his bed, the same bed he had lived in for the past month and a week. In the meantime, he decided that he had might as well relax for the time being and sighed then raised himself up on his arms to adjust the pillows behind him before lowering himself gingerly onto them and closing his eyes.

Selkenauset pushed, determined to finish this, the baby was coming and the woman between her legs had her hands under the child's head as it emerged. With a prayer, she gathered enough strength for one final hard shove and as her exhausted body strained itself she felt the baby leave and the cavity in her hips closed. For one, two minutes, she held her breath, afraid to look down, afraid that in her eagerness, she had killed her child and doomed both Imhotep and herself. Then, finally, a shrill cry pierced the air.

The cry of an outraged newborn.

She smiled, breathed a huge sigh of relief and the priestess sat up after cutting the cord and grinned broadly, her eyes sparkling "you have a beautiful baby boy, princess" she said and Selkenauset began to laugh. She laughed until tears of joy ran down her face then reached out to take her son whom the woman bathed then wrapped in a blanket.

She remembered her daughters, waiting for her in the underworld: Nefertari I the beautiful Queen of Egypt, and Nefertari tun Ma'at, a child of only three. Then she remembered that she and her son were to pass into the underworld within an hour and she looked at Evelyn/Nefertiri. "My sister, soon my son and I will be going to join Imhotep and my daughters and Farsiris will regain control over her body. There is a spell on the fifth page of the book of Amun-Ra that you must read in order to heal her body so that she will not have problems giving birth when the time comes" she explained and her cousin/sister nodded "alright. Is there anything that you want me to tell her?" she asked.

Selkenauset thought for a moment then looked back at her with tears in her eyes "yes, tell her that I am extremely grateful for her gift. She gave me the body that made it possible for me to bring my family back together. And also, tell her to marry Ardeth as he loved me in the past when he was still my bodyguard and he loves her now. She may not accept it at first but I know that he will make her happy. That is a message that Ma'at instructed me to pass along" she added.

The priestesses both looked at each other with raised eyebrows, no doubt wondering why a goddess would ever instruct a High priestess to marry a Med-Jai. Then they seemed to remember being told that Ardeth was not just any Med-Jai warrior but the chief of the seven tribes and also, the son of an Isis worshipper. He would be much more inclined to allow her to travel to the temple on the sacred days of the Goddess than a man of lower status. Their faces relaxed and the younger one even smiled. After letting her sister and Ardeth's hold the baby, she took him back and laid back for a few moments before she heard the voice of her mother fill her mind "it is time to go, my daughter" and in the background she could hear Imhotep calling her. She gave her sister one last smile then took her hand, squeezed it, and sighed "I will see you in a few years, Nefertari" she said and Evelyn reach down and kissed her on the forehead, a gesture that made her smile even more.

It was something that her little sister had done before going to bed for the night for the first twelve years of her life and a little sign of affection between the two royal women. Suddenly Selkenauset felt the baby in her arms go limp and knew that he had passed, she felt the cold winds of the judgement hall against her skin before she closed her eyes and left her body quietly. She then felt a warm hand clasp hers and opened her eyes to see Imhotep smiling at her, almost glowing with happiness, just as she was now. His eyes then fell to the little bundle she had tucked against her with her stronger arm and who decided that he'd better make himself known with a sharp cry. The crying diminished into giggles when his father poked his little tummy very softly but it was enough to tickle. The princess smiled and sighed when her husband put his arm around her and pulled her and their baby close.

They stayed close for a few moments until the door of the underworld opened and Bast peered out, her feline eyes shining inquisitively. Selkenauset laughed softly "yes, we are all here" she said in response and looked at Imhotep, who squeezed her waist softly before they looking at his son who was now staring at him with very familiar dark eyes. His eyes. He looked at his wife and she looked at him then they both smiled at each other before walking into the underworld to join the rest of their family.


	14. Chapter 13 A Whisper on the Wind

This is it and what a journey it has been! I would like to thank all of my readers from the bottom of my heart, especially those who took time to review and encourage me in my work. Blessed be and may much love and light be with you.

It felt as though she were trying to pull herself out of a deep pool of water but, after a few minutes, Farsiris finally regained consciousness and control of her body again.

She was happy and yet feeling emptier than ever before. True, she had just given birth so, in a literal way, she was indeed empty. But her spirit felt bereft of something...of someone. The princess was still there, in her subconscious, but for the most part she had returned to the underworld to be with her family. The thought made Farsiris smile.

Her smiled broadened when she saw the child in her arms. Though he looked dead and his body was cold, he was not truly dead. None of them ever were. She and Evelyn were living proof of that. "Until we meet again, little one" she said wistfully and covered the little body with a blanket before handing it to one of the priestesses. They would take it to the temple and prepare it for a proper burial, at which point the child would be laid to rest beside his mother and father. Then would commence the seventy days of mourning.

The hours passed quickly and, with help from the spell Selkenauset had given Evelyn, Farsiris was soon whole again and looked none the worse for wear. Evelyn went to give the good news to her family and to Ardeth, who lost his composure and relaxed into his cushions, relief etched into every feature of his face.

Farsiris had survived, the curse had been eliminated, and the world was a little safer now for all of them and their children.

**A month later...**

Farsiris stood at the entrance to the temple and stared out at the river in the distance, a thoughtful expression upon her face.

So much had happened in so little time and yet, she felt oddly indifferent. She had slept most of the day after the birth then woken up with the feeling that her life was about to change. Again. Rather tired of fated tasks, she had spoken to Evelyn and her cousin had told her of the message from Ma'at. That she should marry Ardeth. It had seemed strange to her at that time and rightfully so. She had barely known the man. But, though she thought with her own mind and was quite intimate with the mysteries of the gods, there were some things she did not question. The decree of the goddess of justice was one of them.

She looked up at the goddess Nu, whose dress changed from bright cerulean interspersed with delicate white lines of clouds during the day to obsidian decorated with thousands of stars that glittered like crystals at night. Amun blazed his way across the fragile gown in his golden chariot and later, the pale and luminous sisters Isis and Nepthys, would cross the sky in their vessel, the moon. While this was all happening, Bast would keep a silent watch over the Nile delta and the doors to the underworld and Shait, the pitiless goddess of fate and sombre scribe of souls, would be recording the history and future of humankind upon pages of human flesh. Few in this time acknowledged that the gods and goddesses existed "and that will be their undoing" Farsiris thought somewhat sadly but she and her kin would continue their worship, all but closed off from the rapidly developing and increasingly conflicted world outside.

Her thoughts soon moved elsewhere and so did the agile priestess, who would mind her duties for the day as serenely as she had before the book had been lost and Evelyn had come to seek her help. Her feet took her to the temple sanctum, where she dutifully said her prayer and laid a fragrant offering at her divine mother's feet then she went to her quarters where a semi-translucent gown lay upon her couch.

Most of the priestesses still adhered to the ancient custom of sleeping on wide couches with coverlets and a headrest, as opposed to the soft beds of the newer peoples with whom they shared their lands, and Farsiris was no exception. Her fingertips lovingly grazed the engraved wood of the headrest and a gentle smile lit her face as she remembered the day her honey-eyed mother had given it to her. It was the same day she had recieved her silver amulet from the temple and her father had been nearly bursting with pride. This, she would keep after her marriage, along with many other trinkets and her ceremonial dress. Her hand trailed across the fine linen coverlets and onto the silk of the dress. Her life was indeed about to change.

Ardeth had been a persistant suitor, to say the least. She had never recieved so many gifts in her life as she had in the last month and he'd also taken the time to write her letters. After she had recovered enough to walk on her own, she had gone to Ardeth's tent and, in her usual abrupt manner, told him she was glad to see he was recovering but that he needed to get up before his legs withered. Then she'd apologized to Jonathan for that painful kick to his groin two months earlier and hugged Alex, overjoyed to see that he had not sustained any major injuries from this impromptu trip to Egypt. He would be coming to the Med-Jai camp for warrior training during the summers when school was out and would be staying with her and Ardeth. She'd spoken with Ardeth later, in private, about their feelings and had finally seen in his eyes what Selkenauset had seen so long ago in her bodyguard. He loved her and he had confessed it, albeit with much blushing and uncomfortable fidgeting. The memory made her smile fondly. Who'd thought such a steadfast and seasoned warrior, such as he, could blush? Or fidget, for that matter.

After a week spent in the Med-Jai camp, Farsiris had accompanied Evelyn and her family back to Thebes where she'd managed to secure beds for them at a decent inn. Then she had gone back to the temple to see what, if anything, was left for her to go back to. The damage was thankfully minimal, confined to a few chipped statues, a broken vase, and a few broken planks in the wooden doors, but her priestesses were unharmed, most of them having hid in the secret compartments, and elated to see her alive.

She had, in the month afterwards, appointed her replacement after Ardeth had come and proposed to her in the middle of the temple square, in front of everyone. She'd nearly cried after accepting and the celebrations that night were comparable to those of the ancient banquets that she and Evelyn remembered.

Evelyn and her family were still in Egypt, awaiting the wedding that would take place in a week's time in the very square outside the temple, where Imhotep had first seen her and their fight to free him from evil, and save the world, had begun.

**After a week and much fussing...**

"Bloody hell, Evy, you want me to wear a skirt?!"

"It's a kilt, Jonathan, and yes, you are going to wear it"

"Kilt, skirt, same bloody difference. And why exactly are we dressing like this again?"

"It's our cousin's wedding and it is our mother's heritage. Besides, it is ninety degrees in the shade out there so you have two choices: either wear this and the top to go with it, or sweat to death in black med-jai robes. Take your pick"

In the next room, Farsiris was desperately trying not to laugh so as not to interrupt the priestess who was doing her kohl. Another stood behind her and was threading gold beads into her dark hair. She, quite honestly could not see Jonathan in ancient dress, nor the stark black robes of the Med-Jai. He was, in a word, pasty white and, unlike his sister, had not managed to get a tan in the time he had spent in the desert sun. So, she had little doubt that she would spent most of the evening trying not to giggle at the sight of him in an Egyptian kilt. Rick, of course, had chosen the robes and would be standing as best man for Ardeth. A fitting position for a past warrior and presently honorary member of the Med-Jai.

Evelyn, having made her point, reentered the room where her cousin now stood, her make-up and hair finished. "Well now, this looks familiar. Only now, you have a different groom in a different set of dark robes. What is it with you and dark brooding men?" she remarked and they both laughed. "Balance, dear Evelyn, everything is about balance. Darkness would not exist if light was a constant state of being and, without darkness to compare to, we would have no idea what light was" she said and then sighed "besides, I seem to enjoy challenges and that one-" she said, jerking her thumb towards the door, outside of which was where her groom waited in the square "will be a fitting challenge for my free spirit". They both laughed at that then proceeded to put the final touches on her bridal attire.

She put on gold earrings and a transparent veil, with a scene of Isis and Osiris embroidered upon it in gold beads, was pulled up over her braided hair but her face would remain uncovered, as in the tradition of the ancients. A moment and a dab of perfumed oil later, she was ready.

She smiled at her reflection, knowing that, though the face was new, the eyes and spirit were three millennia old. She looked every bit the pharaoh's eldest daughter, the flower of Egypt, and she beamed at Evelyn, who wore the same make-up and dress as she had worn so long ago. When Queen Hatshepsut's temple still gleamed almost white in the sun and her obelisks stood in their rightful places, the metal coated tips shining like stars. When they danced in the temples, held festivals in the open to honour the gods and goddesses who had so blessed their lives, and life had been simpler but, yet, not so. Having made her peace with her past, and supported by the vibrant energy of her Mother, it was time for her to step forward and embrace her future.

She walked out of the room and down the hall, smiling at the priestesses who shook the sistrums to announce her entrance as not just a priestess but a bride. When she entered the afternoon light and descended the stairs into the square, backed by Evelyn and her family, she gazed at the crowd that met her. The med-jai warriors were in full formal dress, their scimitars oiled and their robes cleaned, their wives, sisters, and daughters clad in regal brightly coloured shifts with transclucent elaborately beaded veils and shimmering bracelets. One of elders, who, along with the senior priestess from the temple, would be officiating the ceremony, stood in the back, his eyes bright in his aged face.

Then Ardeth stepped forward, in the dark blue robes etched with silver designs that marked his status as chief of the twelve tribes, his dark hair and eyes shining with a light that came exclusively from his heart, and she saw no one else.

With a whispered prayer and deep cleansing breath, she walked towards him and the company bowed their heads in respect for the bride and her relations. Her nerves were aided by Rick's gentle nudge of his friend, who had ceased to do anything but stare once she had come into view and she giggled softly.

Compared to man-eating bugs, undead mummies, insane henchmen, and an impromptu trip to the underworld to save the damned spirit of a loved one, wedding-day jitters were nothing. Yet she still could not help the anxiousness that pinched her stomach when she finally reached him and looked into those dark eyes, so like another pair of dark eyes she had seen long ago.

For, as she set her hand in his, wearing the bracelet he had given her in another time and body, a sacred and all too familiar scent reached her nose.

Sandalwood.

They smiled at each other in happiness and understanding and each spoke the sacred words of their joining, with a few happy tears on her side. Ardeth kissed his bride and then, in a moment of overwhelming joy, embraced her and spun her around in a circle as she laughed through her tears and clung to him. Applause broke out among the company and Jonathan and Alex teased each other, Rick rolled his eyes, and Evelyn fanned her face, smiling, and willing herself not to cry and ruin her kohl.

As the newly wedded couple recieved their blessings from both elders, a movement caught Farsiris' eye and she looked briefly across the square.

A familiar priest and priestess stood on the steps of the temple of Osiris and she was holding a baby in her arms. Next to her, stood a woman with a cobra coronet upon her brow and wide beguiling eyes and a young girl of perhaps three summers, with the same eyes. The priestess smiled warmly then nodded her head and Farsiris felt the smile in her heart. She returned the gesture in kind and then Imhotep looked at her, a small smile tugging at his mouth, before the family disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Feeling as though she had been given the final blessing for her union, she felt her nerves disappear and her heart was light as her new husband led her down the aisle. They graciously thanked those who had made the journey to be here and talked amiably with Evelyn and her family before leading the crowd away to where a meal and reception awaited them.

But, as they were leaving the square, a gentle breeze carressed Farsiris' face and a rich and ancient voice floated to her ears, filling her with serenity and happiness all over again.

"Thank you".


End file.
